CCS: A CHANGE OF KINGDOM
by Dreamer's Prophetess
Summary: [Warning: Major Christian Theme] Five years have passed. New and old characters are put to the test of love, strength, & faith. Where does Sakura exactly stand? SakxSyao [Sorry, discontinued due to busy work.] Feel free to still review!
1. Another year

Disclaimer: All aspects about **Card Captor Sakura**: Copyright © 1998 CLAMP / Kodansha / NHK / NEP21.

Foreword: Story starts from five years after the second movie…Read and Please Review to your heart's content.

Card Captor Sakura: A Change of Kingdom

Chapter 1: Another Year

The clear gleam of the morning hue spread across the curtains in the room. As the light pierced through, Cerberus or more commonly known as Kero-chan, snuggled underneath its perfect sized blanket- feeling the candy wrappers crinkling by the slight movement. Suddenly, Kero-chan's eye spread wide open and he flew towards his close friend, Kinomoto Sakura. As she was softly breathing, her charming face well rested- Kero smiled. As Kero flew back to his own little bed, he took a glance at the clock, and then froze. He looked again and this time, his tiny doll face zoomed closer to the clock. The numbers slowly sunk into his brain and from the bottom of his stomach, to his lungs, and finally to his very mouth- he let out a most horrendous cry.

"SAKURA! HURRY GET UP! You're LATE TO SCHOOL…AGAIN!" Kero- pranced around her bed- as Sakura mourned, "…ten…more…minutes…"

"NO NO NO You IDIOT! You only have 10 minutes till-" Before Kero could even end his sentence, Sakura jumped out of her bed and ran to the restroom with her clothes. What seemed to have taken only a fraction of a second- she rushed back into her room with her hair in her usual style, and her uniform on. "HOE! I'm LATE! I'm LATE AGAIN!" Kero-sat over the Sakura-Book, which contained the Sakura Cards within, giving a loud yawn. "Sakura, how old are you? Hasn't it been five years already- can't we stop with this whole tardy business?" Sakura returned an angered glance unbeknownst to Kero. "Seriously, I'm getting a heart attack every morning- and you know with my high cholesterol level that's never healthy…yawn" Suddenly, Sakura loomed over, looking extremely angry.

"MUO KERO-CHAN! REMEMBER You said that you would wake me up last night- and you even told me you've alarmed my CLOCK!" Kero let out a sweat drop and rubbed the back of his head nervously, "Oh…yes, I remember that part…ho ho hO HO HO . (Ahem) But it is your responsibility as a growing young lady- therefore…You should learn to be MORE RESPONSIBLE"

"AH no time to chat, I've got to go- I'll talk to you later, Kero-chan!" She started out for the door as Kero-chan screamed back, "Have Fun at School, Sakura …now for the morning shows… yawn…"

Sakura dashed downstairs and found the table with some tasty toasts and delicious sushi rolls for lunch sacked up; all thanks to her wonderful Father. She smiled and whispered, 'Thank you, daddy.' Then she read the note next to her lunch from her older brother:

You were snoring so Loud just like a MONSTER that I decided to just Leave you. I've already yelled so much, but you still wouldn't get up. Oh well- Get to School already You HORRIBLE MONSTER!

Touya

Sakura gripped the paper, and growled, 'Curse you, Oniichan' Finally, she dashed out of the door and started running towards school. As Sakura was excited about being a third year in middle school, (in Asia, that's how it goes, in America she's probably a freshmen in high school), she saw the grim looking cherry blossom trees. They were not in season yet, but she still smiled, knowing that she will be anticipating the day where they will all bloom.

As Sakura ran faster she remembered a strange dream she had last night. It was a day just like this one. A chilly day with the winds blowing softly. She remember standing beside a tall tree, a tree similar to the one next to the shrine. She saw all corners of the town, her hometown, her joyful neighborhood covered with darkness. She turned back to look towards the tree, the only thing that wasn't touched or stained by the dark atmosphere. In the darkness she felt all forms of evil and malice. As she peered closer, she saw pairs of ruby eyes staring right back at her. Suddenly the ruby eyes became larger and Sakura stepped back in fear. She gasped as the darkness shot upwards to the sky and the ruby eyes were found to belong to a powerful creature of claws. The dim light barely allowed the figure to be seen.

"I have to save this place…my home, no matter what. I have to!" She grabbed her key, summoning the power of her star, using the magical forces of the descendant Clow Reed. "Release!" She grabbed her staff and pointed it straight towards the demon. She whipped out her cards, using her most powerful elemental cards, "WINDY, WATERY, FIREY, EARTHY!" All four magnificent spirits of the Sakura Cards bursts forth and stood aloft before the creature. Sakura, knowing that using both Firey and Watery would be a horrible idea and also, using Earthy and Windy together would ultimately result in a disaster. She had to strategically attack this monster. "Go WINDY, WATERY!" Windy and Watery dashed forward as they both used their elemental attacks on the demon, but the dark monster only seemed to have swallowed the attack. A strange laughter was heard.

Sakura whirled around and looked about, but she couldn't find anyone. Yet the giggles, the laughter, and snickers were only getting louder. "What…" Feeling completely uneasy, she looked back at the tree, which was still standing without any darkness around it. It appeared to be a lantern in a terrible storm, an exit to an everlasting maze…She didn't understand what was happening. As she turned to face the monster, she looked stunned as both Windy and Watery turned around and stared back at Sakura. "Windy, Watery…What's wrong?" Suddenly Windy and Watery flew towards Sakura at an amazing speed, Sakura quickly dashed away. Windy turned and burst a gust of wind towards her as Watery caused a flood of water to blast Sakura. Sakura immediately called, "SHIELD!" As a beam of light surrounded her- a small round barrier was covering Sakura when the attack was over.

"WINDY, WATERY, What are you DOING?" Still under the protection of the Shield card, Sakura screamed as a ground breaking meteor strike, a combinational attack from Firey and Earthy broke the protection of the Shield. "What!" Suddenly Sakura thought, 'Wait, the Shield is able to protect any magical attack, no matter how strong the force….that means…' She looked at her most trusted elemental cards, as they hovered over her triumphantly. Sakura stood before them, reaching out her staff, "I command you, Return!" But they all stayed floating, and a few moments passed as Sakura couldn't believe her very eyes. She saw Dash, Little, Big, Fight, Mirror, Silent, Mist, Sand, Twin, and all her beloved cards unleashed and looking towards her with grim faces. "No….what is going on…?"

She beheld the huge monster but blinked to find that instead of the creature, there was a strange figure- hidden in the shadows. "WHO ARE YOU!" She knew, everything must have been the figure's doing. Whatever spell he cast, it must have been a powerful one, one she couldn't easily break. Suddenly she saw the hand of the figure reach out to her. Confused, she stood wondering what the gesture meant. At the same time, all the spirits of the card reached out their hands towards Sakura, beckoning her to come. Sakura, looked at them- and their eyes returned to normal, back to the way she remembered them, loving and supportive. She slowly walked towards them but she stopped as there was one card that blocked her path. THE LIGHT stood in front of her. "Light…." Sakura whispered as she looked behind LIGHT to find the multitude still calling her to come.

"Sakura…you may not understand now, but you will soon. I am here for you…do not forget the evils of darkness…the world we live in knows but only a hint of the true evils that surrounds your very life…" Sakura intently listened to Light's voice, but slowly her voice started changing as though it was not her speaking. "Light…Light? What on…Who….I-" Suddenly, she gasped as the darkness like a grand tsunami engulfed LIGHT. Yet, LIGHT shined forth and cleared about half of the shadows away and pointed towards the tree. "GO! AND Don't LOOK BACK!" Sakura hesitated, "But…But LIGHT!" Her eyes flared up, "NOW!"

Sakura found herself to not have a choice as the Light was already being swallowed up by the darkness, which crawled to consume her as well. She ran towards the tree, which seemed like a mile away. Sakura ran as fast as she could, but for reasons unknown, she felt herself weighing like a million tons. "Please…" She kept pressing on and did not look back. She knew what were chasing her; she knew the darkness was right at her feet ready to suck her in too. "Oh no…" Feeling her strength fading, she started to slow down, "I can't…I can't…" Suddenly she heard a familiar voice, "PLEASE DO NOT GIVE UP!" Sakura looked ahead and saw THE HOPE spirit, the combination of the Void Card and Hope Card from the Second Movie reaching its arms out to her, "You can make it! COME…" Sakura felt her body slowly restoring its energy.

'Hope…yes…Yes, there is always HOPE!" Sakura ran faster and Faster! Then before she barely ran into HOPE's arms- she awoke from her dream. Sakura stopped for a moment as she realized she has already reached her classroom. She sighed, as she expected her teacher to already prepare her punishment for being late to class, either more detention or standing outside with a huge bucket of water. As she slightly opened the door, she was surprised to find that her teacher was not present, though all the students were. Her closest friend, Daidouji Tomoyo, got up to immediately greet her. She had straight bangs, and her hair has been curled at the end of her long flowing dull but strangely attractive hair.

"Sakura-chan!" She smiled as she walked towards her. "Good morning!" Sakura returned the warm gesture as she got into her seat. Sakura looked around as she asked, "Tomoyo-chan, where is the teacher?"

Tomoyo grinned as she said, "You're very lucky because he's actually preparing another student to be in this class. She's awfully sweet and kind to us." Sakura beamed with joy, not only cause she got to school without being marked tardy, but she also get to know another good person. Knowing Tomoyo, if she says someone is sweet, then that person must be so. Sakura looked outside the window, hearing the chitter chatter of birds. Her mind wavered as she remembered just five years ago she and her many friends went on adventures to capture and rewrite the cards to be her Sakura cards. Somehow, now that nothing unusual seemed to be happening, everything, even her cards, seem to be a waste. Is she going to end up sealing them up in her own book so that no one may tamper with the powers of her star? As she pondered of what will become of her cards, Tomoyo noticed how Sakura seemed more down than usual. Being Sakura's closest friend and almost a sister figure, she realized how burdened Sakura must have felt through the days where she had to capture the Clow cards. Now that they are Sakura cards, there doesn't seem to be anything more Sakura has to do, except live a normal life, going to school, hanging out with friends, and preparing for the future. What was to be the goal for Sakura now? Tomoyo lightly nudged Sakura, as she broke away from her daydreaming. Sakura looked and noticed a student walking into the classroom.

"That's her. She's the one I got to talk to for a while." Tomoyo turned and spoke with Rika, another childhood friend of theirs. "Did you get to meet her, Rika-chan?"

Rika nodded as she said, "Yes, I think almost everyone noticed how gentle and kind she was. I hope that we could befriend her and maybe even get to hang out with her so that she would not feel alone here." Suddenly Chiharu (girl with two pony tails) chimed in, "Yeah! Tee hee I didn't know you guys got to talk to her too! I'm so excited- now a days, you don't see people being outwardly friendly and nice like her!"

"Speaking of Kindess-" Takashi suddenly came in front of them as they all backed away from the sudden approach. "There are theories that showing outward kindness might be a sure characteristic of those with the hidden gene within our body called the F gene." Everyone let out a huge sweat drop as they continued to listen to Takashi's evaluation of the human body as holding emotional aspects, divided into some form of genes and being imprinted into our DNA, and that is where our characteristics are based from. "And so-" Before Takashi could finish, Chiharu grabbed his neck. "All right all right, enough with your silly scientific theories, off to our seats now." She dragged him back, using the back of his shirt. Tomoyo let out a little giggle. The teacher coughed as everyone returned to their seats.

"Class, I would like to introduce you to a new student. She has recently moved into our neighborhood and will be attending this school for several months. Why don't you introduce yourself..." He nodded as she turned to face the class. Her eyes let out a purple glint and her hair was brown with a few highlighted strands at the sides of her head. She had not bangs but small bangs hung over her forehead on the left side of her face. She smiled, "Hello, my name is Yoshinada Adelah. _Yolosku _(Japanese, a form of greeting)."

As Adelah peered around the classroom- she suddenly spotted Sakura sitting beside Tomoyo. Sakura smiled but Adelah's eyes became unnaturally cold. Sakura, feeling a little uneasy, let out a sweat drop. 'Why is she looking at me that way,' Sakura thought. Adelah walked towards her but simply passing her to get into a seat next to Naoko, the class genius for the past two year and also close friends to Sakura. Sakura looked back to see her expression again. As Adelah smiled sweetly to introduce herself Naoko, she realized Sakura looking at her. Adelah turned and returned Sakura an uncertain look. Tomoyo noticing Sakura looking away quickly and a little distressed asked, "Sakura-chan, is everything okay?"

"Huh? Oh- yea, everything is all right…" Sakura closed her eyes and took a deep breathe. 'Somehow I don't feel right about this. I feel as though something is different in this room ever since she stepped into it. Why am I feeling this way? I mean, she looks completely normal…could something else be coming up…another…power…?' Sakura sighed as the class started, and Tomoyo gave her a confused look. Adelah, on the other hand, started to bring out her textbook and gave a confused look towards Sakura. She thought to herself, 'Though everyone here seem oblivious to the spiritual world…this girl seems different. I can already read her right through, but the aura I'm getting is not a good one. This girl…she holds some force of light- yet at the same time the force that is binding her is filled with an evil presence…I just don't know…just who is this girl?'

And so the day goes on. Sakura and Tomoyo left for home together and Adelah watched them leave, feeling uncertain of what is to come…

_-----------Preview of Next Chapter-----------_

_Syaoran softly speaks over the phone "…I- I'm sorry I couldn't call you for the past few months, or even send letters…"_

_Kero yells at Syaoran: "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH YOU WORRY SAKURA!"_

_Sakura looking down with tears: "I was going to say that…I love you…that I miss you so much…but…"_

_(School's basketball game coming to an end)_

_All of a sudden, Adelah jerked up as though she wanted to get out of her seat but stops herself really quick. Tomoyo, looking a little surprised, turns and asks, "Adelah-chan, is everything okay?" Adelah fixed her eyes towards the court. Sakura looking shocked and puzzled, pointed to the mysterious hooded figure in the middle of the basketball court and said, "Who are you?" Adelah whirled her head, hearing Sakura ask her fellow cheerleading friends._

_The dark figure whirled past Sakura as she grabbed her necklace._

_"RELEASE!"_

_(Sakura running after the mysterious figure through the park)_

_The dark figure continued to shoot its arrows, even creating a dark atmosphere by surrounding her in darkness, in the midst of the park. Sakura in the process of dodging them, tripped over the roots of the trees. "No!" Whirling around, she saw five arrows coming directly for her._

_------------------------------_


	2. Return Oh Challenger

Disclaimer: **Card Captor Sakura**: Copyright © 1998 CLAMP / Kodansha / NHK / NEP21.

Foreword: A new student, Adelah, seems to be growing suspicious of Sakura…but for what?. Who is she and what could she be plotting?

Card Captor Sakura: A Change of Kingdom

Chapter 2: Return Oh Challenger

Looking outside the window, Sakura smiled pressing the phone close to her ear. The stars were glimmering underneath the velvet sky, beaming even through the clear window. Sakura lightly tapped her left hand against the window pane, seeing her fingers make simple finger marks. Kero pounded the game controller in his hands, trying his hardest to reach the title: Master Record Breaker. Sakura gave a light giggle as she continued to listen intently to the voice in the phone, transmitted from a thousand miles away in the distant land of Hong Kong.

"Why did you laugh?" Li Syaoran asked. Syaoran was Sakura's partner in capturing the cards five years ago and someone whom Sakura felt deep affection for. "Sorry…Kero-chan made a funny expression, trying to master this new game I bought. Tee hee hee, nowadays, I'm buying the games so that he could play and not for me... How is your mother? Is training and studying still hard?"

"Hmm, my mother is doing well. She seems a little ill. My older sisters are trying their best in finding her a doctor. Yet, mother refuses to meet a doctor. She claims it's just old age…um…Training is all right. I've mastered most of the special martial arts that my grand headmaster taught me….I've also developed more of my magic skills and…even new elemental attacks…" Suddenly he fell silent for a moment. "…I- I'm sorry I couldn't call you for the past few months, or even send letters…I would have asked Meilin to write to you for me, but now that she moved, I'm unable to give her any news." Syaoran started scratching his head on the other line. He looked obviously distressed that he had to give such excuses to Sakura, who was always cheerful as she accepted his calls.

"Oh no no it's okay, Syaoran-kun. I'm all right. Knowing that most of my calls couldn't go through to your training school, I didn't really give you too many calls either. Tee hee hee, I…" She blushed lightly as she mustered, "I just want you to train hard…and…do your best. No matter what- I know you could do it! I know you will make it through. I…I trust in you…and…" Towards she end, Sakura started to almost choke. With her sad expression, she stopped and quickly wiped some tears away. Syaoran was silent, feeling equally hurt by the fact that it was extremely hard for them to visit one another. Suddenly Kero's loud voice interrupted them both. Sakura gasped as Kero grabbed the phone away from Sakura's hands and yelled, "YOU BRAT! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH YOU WORRY SAKURA! DON'T YOU EVEN THINK OF COMING BACK HERE, YOU SQUIRT. I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU- ACK! SAKURA, NOT THE TAIL !"

Syaoran stood silent on the other line, listening as he heard his close friend, Sakura and her not-so-adorable critter, Kero, rumble in the background. In the moonlight, only his dark hair could be seen with his body slightly leaning against the wall. Syaoran's lips made a dismal expression as he slightly gripped the phone. He muttered with a sigh, "Sakura…" Suddenly, after a few moments, Sakura returned, panting as she cried out, "I'm SO SORRY, Syaoran-kun! I didn't mean for that to happen! I don't know what got into Kero-chan! I'm really so sorry… (hontoni gomen!) Don't take into heart what he said. He doesn't know what he's talking about!"

"No…I'm sorry, Sakura…" For a brief moment they were both silent, feeling rather awkward and unsure of how to react. "So…um, what were you going to say…before that beast cut you off?"

Sakura blushed furiously and shook her head. "Ah- it was nothing! Hahaha Um, yea, good luck with your training, Syaoran-kun! Sorry, I have to go and get rid of Kero-chan! Good Night!" Before Syaoran could even reply, she quickly hung up, still blushing and gazing outside. Syaoran on the other line looked a little puzzled at the phone. Then he lightly placed it on the receiver as he walked away from the phone booth. Sakura placed her cell phone lightly on her desk and returned to the window. She leaned in as though she was looking for a distant star in the sky. She sighed lightly, as Kero fluttered behind her.

"I was going to say that…I love you…that I miss you so much…but…" Sakura let her head fall, feeling her hair flow over her face. "But…" Sakura bit her under lip and she began to tremble. Kero flew closer to her with a worried expression. Though Sakura's hair was covering the majority of her face, Kero saw the drops of painful tears fall. Kero-chan had a distressed expression on his face and started to fumble with his paws. "Um…Sakura, I'm…I'm sorry for what I said…um…I…I…BUT that Brat Deserved IT! HE DID TOO!" Sakura sniffled and wiped away her tears. She turned to look at Kero-chan with a smile. Kero turned away and looked bitterly guilty, but Sakura came from behind and lightly grabbed his wings and carried him. She sat on her bed and placed Kero-chan on her lap. Kero smiled back at her asking, "You're not mad at me, are you?" Sakura shook her head.

"I'm not that angry at least." She sighed as Kero resumed flying. "I guess I just don't know… it's been five years. Do you think he still feels the same way for me, Kero-chan? I don't know how to bring up the conversation without sounding as though I lost interest in him or something. I don't know how to talk about our feelings for each other without sounding like I don't trust him…I just don't know…" Kero looked at her intently and thought for a moment. "Hmm, well, it's probably because you guys separated so quickly, right after you guys told each other your feelings. BUT You never know SAKURA during those five years, HE MAY HAVE BEEN-"

Unfortunately, before Kero could finish, Sakura intervened looking awfully angry, "KERO-CHAN! MUO why do you keep thinking such bad thoughts about him. I trust Syaoran-kun, He's not like that!" Kero shirked away and let down a sweat drop of unease. "Hehe…then again, maybe not" He fluttered away and went inside his little home, which was the bottom drawer of Sakura's new desk, more fit for a growing teenager. He looked back, "Sakura, I don't know what the heck you saw in that brat but you shouldn't worry about it too much. You're living your life, He's living his, simple as that. If fate calls for it, you guys will be reunited again, I'm sure." He grinned brightly and Sakura smiled, feeling at least somewhat reassured by Kero's seemingly useless advice. 'Then again, Kero-chan is not going to really understand a girl's feeling…tee hee hee.' Sakura thought. 'I shouldn't worry…yea, I guess…I should just let go and worry about it when I really see him…'

After changing into her pajamas, she got into her bed. Before she shut her eyes, she looked over to Kero's bed and whispered, "Kero-chan? Are you asleep?" Kero lifted his head over the drawer and looked towards Sakura. Sakura softly told him, "Tomorrow's is going to be the Basketball tournament. I'm not going to come home from after school and I might be a little late, okay?" Kero nodded and quickly went back to sleep, snoring. She smiled and turned to face the ceiling and started to let her mind wander off again.

'I wander when I will see him again…'

'And I still can't get that dream out of my mind…the darkness…it was so real, and I can't understand what Light was trying to say…I don't know…everything seems so vague…'

Suddenly Sakura got up and looked towards her Sakura book, consisting of her Sakura cards. She picked it up and looked through each cards. Finally, she found The Dream card. Taking her keys, she closed her eyes and focused upon her star. Without shouting in a commanding tone, she whispered, "Release…" Her key was transformed into a long staff as she raised it and called upon The Dream card. Dream appeared before her, filling the room with a grand fog. Sakura looked at Dream as the spirit returned the gaze.

"Dream…did you know what dream I got last night…do you think you could somehow tell me what it's about?" Sakura asked. Suddenly, she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She turned to look and found a small golden butterfly. The butterfly flapped and lightly touched Sakura's head, but quickly lifted up and disappeared. Sakura looked confused at Dream, but Dream did not return any answer. Dream simply shook her head as though she did not know what Sakura was talking about.

"Are you saying…you don't know what kind of Dream I had?" Dream nodded slightly as Sakura looked even more confused. "But…it was…as though it was a prophetic dream…I could have sworn I saw all my cards and … it was…" Dream simply shook her head and Sakura realized that Dream was confused as well. Dream didn't seem to even know what kind of dream Sakura had. If she didn't know about the dream, there is no way for her to interpret it either. Sakura sighed and the spirit returned the card. Sakura returned the card back into the book and placed it back in it's original place.

Soon morning came and Sakura quickly got into her clothing and dashed out of her room, crashing into her brother in the process. "MUO Oniichan! brother" She quickly ran around him and headed off. He simply grinned, "Watch where you're going, you little monster!" He heard her yell in the distance, "I'm not a monster!" He heard the door slam. As he started getting his bag ready, Touya looked at a picture with him, Sakura, and Yukito, who was his best friend. He stood silent for a moment, but turned and headed off towards his college, which Yukito also attended. Sakura, on the other hand, was running towards school. Finally making it through the door, she quickly ran into her seat. Tomoyo turned around and grinned. "Well, that was fast- at least you're not late. How are you today?" Sakura panting, put her head on her folded hands, "Ugh…tired and sleepy…I don't seem to get enough sleep for some reason." Tomoyo and Sakura started to share their usual conversation, giggling occasionally and frequently making funny expressions. Tomoyo then turned and noticed Adelah in the corner of the room, looking outside the window.

"Yoshinada-chan?" Adelah stirred and turned around. "Come join us. Don't stand alone, looking outside the window. Let's get to know each other better." Adelah smiled at Tomoyo's warm gesture and sat next to Tomoyo and in front of Sakura. "Thank you, Daidouji-chan" Tomoyo smiled and turned to Sakura.

"Sakura-chan, have you spoke to Yoshinada-chan, yet?" Adelah looked towards Sakura in a rather bold but at the same time cold stare. Sakura smiled and said, "Actually, I haven't." Sakura took her hand out, "Hello, my name is Kinomoto Sakura. I heard so much about you." Adelah took the hand and shook it, "Yes, same goes for you. You seem quite popular among the students." Sakura returned a confused gaze as Tomoyo looked a little uncertain. Deciding to change the subject, Tomoyo decided to start a nice crisp conversation.

"So Yoshinada-chan, what were you doing at the window?" Adelah smiled sweetly, "Oh, I was just thinking…" As they continued their conversation, Sakura noticed such a change in her expression. For some reason, Sakura didn't want to trust her. She felt as though Adelah may be hiding something. Yet, seeing how she treats others and how she speaks, Adelah seemed to be a wonderful person, actually, a great person- almost as nice as Tomoyo! Adelah looked at Sakura, which made Sakura jump a little. Sakura decided to talk, "Uh…so where do you live right now?"

"I live close to the grocery store that is a few blocks away from the school." Sakura smiled excitedly as she exclaimed, "That's close to where I live!" Adelah's expression changed again, her eyes squinting as though she was scrutinizing something. "Is that so?"

Tomoyo got an idea and leaned towards Adelah. "Yoshinada-chan, do you-" Adelah giggled and intervened, "You don't have to keep calling me by my last name. Please just call me Adelah. I feel more comfortable that way." Tomoyo and Sakura smiled.

Tomoyo resumed her statement, "Adelah-chan, do you want to watch tonight's basketball game. It's actually an important match I heard." Adelah looked concerned for a moment but sighed, "Actually, I was wanting to go, but I didn't want to go alone. Thank you for asking me, Daidouji-chan!" Tomoyo laughed this time and said, "Since you said I could call you Adelah, please call me Tomoyo too!" Adelah nodded, "Okay, thank you so much!" For some reason, Sakura felt very out of this conversation, but she quickly shrugged the feeling away. Sakura looked at Adelah again and again, but no matter how she saw it, something was strange. Sakura simply sighed and decided to hold this thought for now.

As the day ended and it was time to prepare for the game, Sakura changed into her cheerleading costume, which Tomoyo truly admired. Tomoyo and Adelah decided to go sit on the stands first, since Sakura had to get prepared with her other cheerleading friends, Naoko and Chiharu. Naoko in all her knowledge decided to name their little social group, Takashi's angels, but Sakura and Chiharu had to persuade her to stop embarrassing them with that title. Of course, Takashi, on the other hand, didn't mind the attention, especially the attention given from Chiharu. As the cheerleaders went and cheered for their teams, Sakura turned around occasionally to look at Tomoyo and Adelah, who seemed to be having an enjoyable conversation. They were both giggling, pointing at some players and clapping when shots were being made.

The game was close to ending, and as Sakura was cheering, she felt as though she was zoned out. Everything seemed to be going in slow-motion as she watched the players run and defend their basket. She seemed to have stood silent as she noticed all the vast sounds around her, the children complaining to their parents, the parents cheering their sons on, the sound of the basketball against the gym floor, the sound of their shoes rushing across, the sound of people arguing, laughing, and the bells ringing. 'Sometimes I wonder…everyone living their own lives…everything in constant motion…everything changing and …and…' Sakura's thoughts were interrupted as she saw one of the players from the other school fall on the floor injured. The crowd gasped as the fellow teammates surrounded their fallen friend. The referee checked up on his condition and look towards the coach, who came to help him settle down on the bench. 'The human body is so fragile…we all get injured once or twice…sometimes it doesn't hurt and sometimes it's fatal…and we all try to just…keep our body healthy…to live on…' Sakura suddenly stopped cheering, repeating her last thoughts 'living…on?' over and over, as it echoed in her head. Chiharu and Naoko noticed Sakura's strange reaction. Adelah, though Tomoyo was speaking joyfully, even looked towards Sakura's direction with a grim look.

'…to live on…but…why…' Suddenly Chiharu grabbed Sakura and pointed to the score board, "LOOK, Sakura-chan. Out team can WIN!" Sakura blinked, shaking herself away from her thoughts and looked at the scoreboard. While the opponent had scored 40 points, their team has scored 52 points. Having only five minutes left, there was a chance still for the opponent team to catch up. Naoko chirped in, "I hope that they could really make it into the Championships."

Sakura smiled, "Yea, they really deserve it for all those long hours of practice they had to endure…" Suddenly as Sakura looked at the members of their school team, she noticed an unfamiliar person in the middle of the court. The figure moved along with the players, but seemed somewhat transparent. The players seemed oblivious of its presence and it also ran through it as though it wasn't there. As the players moved furiously forward, the dark figure, cloaked in a large black silver cape, followed quickly behind. Adelah and Tomoyo were watching the game silently. All of a sudden, Adelah jerked up as though she wanted to get out of her seat but stops herself really quick. Tomoyo, looking a little surprised, turns and asks, "Adelah-chan, is everything okay?" Adelah fixed her eyes towards the court. Sakura looking shocked and puzzled, pointed to it and said, "Who is that?" Adelah whirled her head, hearing Sakura ask her fellow cheerleading friends.

Naoko looked around and so did Chiharu, wondering what Sakura was talking about. "Who are you talking about, Sakura-chan? We don't see anyone…unless you just mean the basketball players" Sakura looked shocked and then pointed but realized that she must have been the only one who could see the mysterious figure, since everyone else was watching the game as though nothing was wrong. She examined the mysterious figure and noticed how the mysterious figure did have a face. It appeared to be a man, or perhaps a spirit. That couldn't be possible, she's captured all the spirits already and turned them into Sakura cards. For some reason, she was able to see clearly everything; everything began to run in slow motion again and Sakura saw the figure hover over a player and whisper something into his ear. As though she was watching a movie, she noticed how the player became violent, fouling and growing bitter over his own mistakes. Sakura gripped and thought to herself, 'This is not right…the figure is doing something to the players…but…I don't understand…what's going on!' Everything returned to normal pace and she noticed how a few players began to start fighting, fist to fist. The other players tried to separate them and the coaches, alarmed at their reaction reached in to stop them. Sakura quickly ran in amidst the court. Chiharu and Naoko called her name but she did not look at them or answer. She fixed her gaze on the dark figure, which stood a distance away from the fight, as though it was waiting for the results of this disaster. Sakura stood in front of it, between the brawl and the figure. Though the face was not visible under the dark shadows, Sakura felt familiar with this mysterious person. Tomoyo looked concerned, "Why is Sakura-chan in the middle of the court?" She turned and looked to where Adelah was sitting, but to her surprise, Adelah was gone. "Huh? Adelah- chan? Where did you go?"

The dark figure whirled past Sakura, which surprised her. Sakura ran after it quickly, which simply confused the crowd and all of her friends. Chiharu and Naoko called after her and then looked to each other, "What was she doing alone in the middle of the court?" Noticing the dark figure dashing outside the gym into the halls and through stairs, Sakura chased after it, knowing that she had to stop it before it hurt anymore people. Reaching into her pocket, she took out her key, calling upon the power of her star, "RELEASE!" She grabbed her staff and chased after the figure. She reached into her pocket and grabbed her cards. She was quite relieved that she decided to bring them along for the occasion. "Okay, I have to somehow corner it. I know, I'll make a barrier!" Flipping out THE LOOP card, she called out, "LOOP!" As the figure kept rushing, it fell into the trap that Sakura designed and it went around in circles, as it kept running through the same hallway over and over again. As it was dashing, it was right about to crash into Sakura, but it halted. Sakura stood before it, ready to conjure up any magic if necessary. Then the dark figure raised its black hand and Sakura noticed The Loop card flashing crazily. "Loop? What the-!" The figure dashed past her and Sakura saw that spell was somehow broken, and the power of Loop card has been dispelled.

Sakura resumed her chase, wondering how this could be possible. The dark figure flashed outside through a window, so Sakura, who could not keep running, called, "JUMP," and followed it into the night. The dark figure was able to penetrate through everything, walls, trees, benches…'Darn!' Sakura gripped her staff and chased it faster by using "DASH!" Finally, she was able to quickly catch up, as she took out her card, "WOOD!" A great amount of vines sprung from the ground and tied the figure. The figure halted, as though it expected the attack and let the wood cover almost every part of its body. "WINDY!" Sakura didn't want to take any chances and quickly used Windy to bound the figure tighter. Windy circled around the figure as Sakura stepped closer. Before she could speak, however, she saw bright red eyes, glaring back at her under the hood. Suddenly, a tremendous force broke the Wood's spell of binding the figure, and Windy also was unable to withstand and was flown away, only quickly returning to the card. Sakura flew back and fell on the floor. The figure did not run. Instead, this time it started to walk closer to Sakura. Sakura, confused and also intimidated by the figure's dominating powers, started to fluster. 'It's been so long that these things happened. How am I to beat something that can withstand almost all my magic.' Suddenly, the dark figure reached out and from its fingertips sprung out arrows of fire. Sakura jumped back and quickly dodged all five arrows. 'It's stronger than I expected…oh, what do I do…Kero-chan…Yue…' Feeling discouraged, she grabbed her most powerful elemental cards, Firey, Watery, Windy, and Earthy. Before she could summon them, the dark figure continued to shoot its arrows, even creating a dark atmosphere by surrounding her in darkness, in the midst of the park. Sakura in the process of dodging them, tripped over the roots of the trees. "Oh no!" Whirling around, she saw five arrows coming directly for her.

"TIME!"

Sakura cringed but when she opened her eyes half-way, she saw that the arrows stopped nearly over half way through the distance between her and the figure. Sakura gave a quick sigh but noticed that the arrows began to quiver and Sakura saw her The Time card flashing wildly. She gasped, 'NO!' Sakura whirled and covered her face with her arm, realizing the card had already lost its effect. 'This is the end!' Hearing sounds of the arrows hitting everything but her, she was confused and looked upwards. Her gaze was upon a boy with a sword in his hands, with dark colored hair, wearing jeans and a sporty jacket. It was hard to describe who it was from the back and in the dark- but it didn't take Sakura long before she realized who it was. The dark figure lowered its hand and stood calmly hovering before them. Sakura looked around, finding the arrows broken into two. Her eyes started to water, as she looked back up.

"Syaoran…-kun…."

The boy turned around and it was indeed Syaoran, the same eyes and face, which distinctly aged five years. "Sakura…" He kneeled to help her up. Sakura didn't know what to say but she quickly wiped away her tears. "Are you all right? Are you hurt?" Syaoran grabbed her hand and lifted her up gently, as she looked deeply into his face. Syaoran was a few inches taller than Sakura now, and Sakura noticed a distinct change in his voice, different from the voice on the phone. Syaoran stared back into Sakura's face, shaking her lightly, "Sakura…? Are you okay..?" Sakura coming back to reality, nodded. "Uh…yea, I'm okay, Sy..Syaoran-kun." Suddenly Sakura noticed that the black figure wasn't before them anymore. Sakura looked around and then immediately Syaoran pushed Sakura down, "Watch OUT!" Ducking, they both looked up and found the dark figure looming, throwing flames upon them. Sakura and Syaoran quickly dashed away. Syaoran stood in front of Sakura with his sword, and took out his usual talismans from his family arts. Before the dark figure could throw another fire blast, Sakura summoned "WATERY!" Immediately Watery came and tried to douse the flames that soon started to consume parts of the park. Syaoran using his talisman, summoned the powers of the wind. Together, the forest was calm but the dark figure still remained.

"He's strong…damn…" Syaoran looked distressed and his deep voice revealed that he wasn't too happy with how things seemed to be turning around. "What cards have you tried on him?"

"Almost all the cards used for combat, our magic seems to not have any effect on him. He can penetrate through anything! What should we-" Sakura's words stopped because the dark figure shrieked and raised both of its dark hands in the air. Suddenly a large black massive force came upon Sakura and Syaoran. Sakura quickly ran in front of Syaoran and called, "LIGHT!" Light shined forth and penetrated through the darkness and shined upon the figure. The figure cringed and shrieked loudly. Sakura noticed that Light had some sort of effect on the dark figure. Suddenly, the light disappeared and the Light spirit convulsed as though it was attacked. "Light! What's wrong?" The Light spirit became but a mist and returned to its card. "No…even Light…but…but…" Sakura and Syaoran screamed and flew back as the figure blasted more powerful dark attacks. Syaoran grabbed Sakura and covered her as the dark figure who seemed to have become a large giant came their direction to devour them. Sakura and Syaoran cringed but noticed how the figure was hindered before it reach a few inches away from Sakura and Syaoran. The dark figure whirled around, as though it was looking for something or someone. It trembled as though it was confused. Syaoran noticed that some sort of barrier was placed in front of them. Sakura noticed the darkness slowly disappearing, finding themselves back into their usual environment.

The dark figure stepped backwards slowly and finally, whirled around and disappeared into the trees, hissing. Syaoran and Sakura slowly got up, finding themselves deep inside the park area. "What happened? Syaoran-kun, did you…did you-?" Syaoran shook his head.

"I didn't do anything, for a moment I thought it may have been your SHIELD…but-whatever happened, the power was different from ours."

"I noticed that too…" Sakura looked around and noticed someone standing against the tree. Her eyes locked on the figure and as she closely looked on, the familiar face was no other than Adelah, looking towards the direction where the dark figure ran away in an angry expression. Sakura was going to say something but Adelah quickly rushed away. Syaoran noticed her too and turned to look back at Sakura. "Sakura, who was that?"

"…Adelah…cou- could she have been a part of all this…?" Sakura shook her head, unsure how to take in all that has happened. From a distance, Sakura and Syaoran heard their names. When they both looked up, they saw Tomoyo and Kero-chan running towards them. So the long night has finally ended and Sakura had yet another ordeal to face. She looked at her cards and clutched her staff tightly…inside her heart, demanding answers to fight this battle.

_--------Preview of Next Chapter----------_

_"HOEE! WE ARE LATE! HURRY, SYAORAN-kun!" Sakura and Syaoran both started running and right before the school gate closed on them; they dashed in and starting madly climbing the stairs. _

_As she was ready to grab the door knob of her classroom, she stopped and whirled her head to her right. She stopped as she saw Adelah stop in her tracts as well._

_Sakura: "I don't know why you were there in the first place… but I'm going to let you know that things are becoming suspicious--"_

_Adelah: "Do you think you can actually fight that spirit with your cards?"…"Face it; you don't have what it takes…"_

_Sakura: "What makes you think you can talk as if you know about the cards and spirits!" _

_As Sakura got up from her faint position the same dark figure from yesterday stood right in front of her. As it loomed over her, she felt herself being plunged into the darkness. She gasped for air, finding none but the hands of the being wrapped around her neck._

_-------------------------------------_


	3. Uncertainties

Disclaimer: **Card Captor Sakura**: Copyright © 1998 CLAMP / Kodansha / NHK / NEP21.

Foreword: After a deathly encounter with a mysterious figure, Sakura realizes her powers are not her own. Somehow, her cards are not responsive to her commands. With the return of Syaoran Li, many events are starting to turn upside down for Sakura. And what of Adelah, who seems to be involved in the entire ordeal?

Card Captor Sakura: A Change of Kingdom

Chapter 3: Uncertainties

Just turning the corner, Syaoran reached Sakura's home. He looked up, observing the appearance of the house. He smiled as he remembered the time when he was switched with Kero's conscience and he ended up in Kero's body due to the Change card. At that time, he didn't hold any feelings for Sakura, but the warmth of her house and her hospitality never changed. Syaoran, wearing the typical school uniform for a third year in middle school (or freshmen in high school), slid his sleeve up to look at his watch. It was approximately 7:40 AM. He looked up abruptly, as he heard a large scream coming from Sakura's window. He gave a quick smirk in response to this.

"HOOOOEEEEE! OH NO! I was supposed to meet Syaoran-kun at 7:30 today! NOO!" Sakura quickly got up, tossing a sleepy Kero to the side. Kero gave a little yelp as his plump small body bounced on Sakura's fluffy pillow. Sakura made a mad dash for the restroom, then for her room, for her kitchen and finally she ran outside, nearly smashing into Syaoran's arms. She stopped herself as her feet made a screeching sound. Luckily, they didn't collide into each other. Syaoran gave her a glum look as he looked away. Sakura blushing furiously and fixing her uniform a bit, fumbled, "Oh my goodness, Syaoran-kun, I'm so sorry. How…How long did you wait?"

Syaoran grimly stated, "…about half an hour…" Hearing this, Sakura's jaws dropped, as she gave a most horrified gasp. She took a step back. "I don't know what I was thinking. I'm so sorry. I'm soo soooo Sorry…." While Sakura was bowing like a million times to him, Syaoran couldn't help but pull a mischievously grin from his serious appearance. Syaoran turned around and looked at her as she slightly lifted her head, somewhat afraid to examine his expression. Syaoran gave a light chuckle, "Nah, I just came right now Hahaha. Still the sleepy head that I knew from before, huh?"

Sakura raised her whole body, looking surprised. "I can't believe this- so you knew I would wake up late?….MUO- SYAORAN-KUN!" Sakura looked angry, which made Syaoran pull a handsome smile at her playful attitude. Seeing him smile, however, made Sakura blush and look away. Sakura quickly remarked, "Well then, um- we got to hurry to school." Sakura quickly walked passed him. "Whoa- wait up there…" Syaoran walked with Sakura towards the school that he never attended before. Sakura smiled as she felt the tension from last night breaking. Sakura did notice the obvious changes that the age brought to Syaoran, but that didn't matter. By the sound of his voice and even his appearance, he did grow much since five years ago. She realized his attitude and who he seemed to be didn't change. His tone of voice, his demeanor, was the way she remembered. Strolling silently, Syaoran looked at Sakura noticing her smile hasn't changed at all. He was glad that her friendly attitude and loving heart never failed to bring him joy. As he looked at her closely, he remembered their last embrace five years ago- after capturing the Void clow card. He held a contemplative look just as Sakura had. They both turned and looked at each other to say something. Noticing they both had something to say, however, they both opened their mouth to say something but abruptly stopped.

Slightly feeling uneasy, they both looked away. Syaoran quickly said, "You go first…" Sakura turned back to look at him, still walking side by side with him. "Um…so, how were you able to come to Japan again? I was so surprised to see you yesterday…I thought you may have called first…" Sakura didn't want to bring up the situation of last night, but still, she knew it was something that concerned them both, magic users. Sakura noticed that Syaoran's expression slightly changed, as though it was a hard question for him to answer. Syaoran, after a moment of silence, finally spoke, "Well…Meilin was able to get airplane tickets. At first, she wanted to go visit Japan for you and Daidouji. But she told me it would be difficult for me to visit again if I continued my training further…so…she gave me the ticket and told me to go for her instead…yea, that's how I was able to come to Japan."

Sakura nodded, excited to hear the news of how he came. "Is Meilin-chan going to visit us too? And oh oh How long can you stay in Japan?"

"Uh…For now, I'm not sure if Meilin is able to visit. She's been studying, trying to get into one of the most prestigious high schools in Hong Kong." Sakura nodded, understanding that exams will be coming up for her too. "But for most part, I think I will be staying in Japan for a while- at least until my mother calls me to come back for any important reason." Sakura beamed with joy.

"Oh- that's wonderful! I'm so happy!" Syaoran smiled back at her. "We can spend more time with one another…and…um…of course, the others missed you as well. Takashi-kun also asked me about you. Tee hee hee… it seemed he was looking for more people to listen to his new theories and stories…"

"Yea…" Syaoran said, trying his best to hide how he looked a little down. "…It would be nice to catch up with everything…for a change…" Sakura, confused at his downcast face, took a step forward and stood in front of him, making him stop in his tracks. Syaoran looked up at her face, puzzled at her reaction. Sakura, with her bright emerald eyes asked, "Syaoran-kun…something's wrong, isn't it...you coming back…Meilin's ticket situation…it wasn't really planned like that was it?" Syaoran looked a little uncertain again. Sakura tried to read his expressions, but it was different now. It's been five years and they've grown so more- during those five years, they were going through completely different set of experiences. She was living her life as a normal girl, though she was able to use her magic anytime she wanted. He, on the other hand, rigorously trained to improve his skills well enough to carry on his family's name. Both of them had differently responsibilities. And over time, so many things are prone to change. Their views on this world, their personal attitude towards society, everything is prone to change. "…neh? Syaoran-kun…"

Looking up at Sakura, Syaoran grinned. "No… it's okay…I decided to come to Japan, and it was a decision that I made… but I'm all right, Sakura." Sakura, unsatisfied with the answer, tried to find out the problem. "But-"

"I'm all right…I promise. Besides, I think we should both be more concerned about what we saw yesterday…and whatever threatened us, is still out there and alive, for that matter…"

"…yea… you're right…so then, everything okay with you, right?" Sakura still intently looked into his eyes, demanding reassurance on his part.

"…yea…" His eyes didn't waver from hers, almost filled with as much determination as hers.

Sakura sighed as she stood by his side, and began walking just as Syaoran followed. "Syaoran-kun…" Syaoran-kun looked to his side at her face, which still looked ahead. "…you could tell me…anything….okay?" Syaoran nodded. He smiled, "Thanks…Sakura." Sakura turned her head to his and was finally relieved to find him smiling again. She thought for a moment. "Oh! So, what were you going to say to me?"

"Oh…." Syaoran thought for a moment, but right as he opened his mouth to speak, in the distance they both heard the school bell ringing. "HOEE! WE ARE LATE! (Oh, not again!) HURRY, SYAORAN-kun!" They both started running and right before the gate closed on them; they dashed in and starting madly climbing the stairs.

Tomoyo was sitting, reading a large book that resembled the dictionary in many ways. She lifted her gaze and looked at the desk in front of her. "Hmm…Sakura-chan…" She let her book down and put her index finger under her chin, as if to think, "I wonder if she's going to be late this time again." Luckily, the time Sakura and Syaoran reached the door to the office as the teacher was right about to exit his room. The teacher surprised, looked at them both. "Oh…" The teacher raised his glasses and looked at Syaoran for a while. Reaching a conclusion, he said, "You must be Li Syaoran from Hong Kong." Syaoran slightly bowed and nodded. "Yes, that is right."

The teacher turned to look at Sakura, who stiffened, fearing that she would be scolded for being late again. "Sakura, you must have helped him find his way to the office. Thank you. You should go back now, since I've got to complete some of the registration forms with Li-kun." Sakura sighed, thankful that she was not in trouble for being late. Syaoran grinned at her gesture, as he looked back at the teacher. The teacher went back into the office as Syaoran followed. He turned back towards Sakura. "I'll see you later…" Sakura smile and nodded with a slight blush. As the door closed before her, she slowly walked back to her class. Throughout her walk, Sakura couldn't help but try to piece everything that happened together…in her thoughts…

_THE LIGHT stood in front of her. "Light…." Sakura whispered as she looked behind LIGHT to find the multitude still calling her to come._

_"Sakura…you may not understand now, but you will soon. I am here for you…do not forget the evils of darkness…the world we live in knows but only a hint of the true evils that surrounds your very life…" Sakura intently listened to Light's voice, but slowly her voice started changing as though it was not her speaking. "Light…Light? What on…Who….I-"_

_"GO! AND Don't LOOK BACK!"_

_"Are you saying…you don't know what kind of Dream I had?" Dream nodded slightly as Sakura looked even more confused. "But…it was…as though it was a prophetic dream…I could have sworn I saw all my cards and … it was…" Dream simply shook her head and Sakura realized that Dream was confused as well._

_Sakura looked around and noticed someone standing against the tree. Her eyes locked on the figure and as she closely looked on, the familiar face was no other than Adelah, looking towards the direction where the dark figure ran away in an angry expression._

Sakura stopped in her tracks, realizing that she was already in front of her class. As she was ready to grab the door knob, she stopped and whirled her head to her right. She stopped as she saw Adelah stop in her tracts as well. Sakura slowly let go of her bag as she let both of her hands fall into the handle of her school bag. She was unsure of what to say. During last night's event, Adelah _must_ have seen everything. At least everything that happened should have come across Adelah as something phenomenal or strange. Yet Adelah's facial expression was calm, almost expressionless. Sakura couldn't grasp the reasoning for her calm nature. Sakura expected something completely different. Adelah should be in excitement and questioning what she saw last night, if she was a typical person. If she was a typical person, she should be asking with beaming curiosity the powers that Sakura revealed with the cards. Sakura simply stood in confusion, pondering what Adelah could even be thinking. Adelah, in the same way, was simply looking right back at her. As they both stood silent in front of each other, Sakura finally begin to speak up, determined to try her hardest to explain everything clearly to her.

"Adelah…what you saw…you see, that was…something that Tomoyo-chan, I, and Syaoran-kun are somewhat involved in since five years ago…." Adelah's face didn't change as she heard Sakura continue. "I don't know why you were there in the first place… but I'm going to let you know that things are becoming suspicious—if I were to describe the moment I met you to yesterday…I would say everything about you…is different." Adelah's eye never wavered or shook with disappointment or shock. Instead, Adelah grinned and sighed.

"Different, huh?" Adelah turned away and looked towards the line of windows next to them. She sighed, "I guess that's one way to put it." Sakura gripped her hand as she took one step closer, which made Adelah raise one of her eye brows at her.

"So, what does this mean? How are you involved in what happened last night? You saw everything, didn't you? Adelah… I demand answers. Was it you…who called that ….spirit…?" Adelah simply giggled, which made Sakura uneasy. Sakura tried her hardest to feel anything from Adelah. She didn't feel any evil, but somehow a great opposition towards her- something that her magical powers couldn't grasp or understand. Nonetheless, Sakura demanded answers- and demanded to know what happened and who exactly Adelah was! As Sakura was about to speak, Adelah spoke, "Before you want to ask who I am, where I came from, why I'm here…" Sakura looked extremely surprised, almost taking a step back, as though Adelah could read MINDS, "I've got a few questions for you myself…

"Do you think you can actually fight that spirit with your cards? I wonder sometimes…What gives you that boldness to put your confidence on spirits that don't even obey you?" Sakura looked utterly stunned and angry at her words that came from her mouth and directly aimed at Sakura's heart the place where she dearly held all her cards. Everything she said seemed to have tested Sakura's trust upon the cards. There was a moment of silence between them. Sakura tightly gripped her hands, frustrated at what she was hearing, but not having anything to answer Adelah back. Adelah closed her eyes and she said, "You…You can't beat that spirit- in fact, nothing you carry can go against it. Face it; you don't have what it takes…" Sakura, angry and disappointed, shook her head as if to recheck what she heard. Finally, she gave her argument, "What makes you think you can talk as if you know about the cards and spirits? You don't even understand where the powers of these cards come from and-"

Adelah interrupted her, "And do YOU know where the powers of those cards come from?"

"Of course! It comes from the source of the magic, which lived within Clow Reed, who is- "

"Now dead…and have been since many years now…" Sakura froze, as Adelah continued, "…or…believed as being resurrected in some way and now lives as a spirit within some of your friends or relatives…?"

"Wh..What… how do you…?" 'How does she know about Eriol-kun and my father?' Sakura quickly thought to herself. Her stern eyes never left Sakura's as she took a step forward, "With the powers of the dead, you expect to fight that spirit?"

'…powers…of the dead?' Sakura didn't understand what she meant, but somehow, those words were filled with truth.

"Don't make me laugh…" Adelah turned around as she was ready to walk into the other side of her class, but Sakura came from behind and grabbed her arm, "Wait! Our conversation is not over!" Nevertheless, Adelah just stared back at her…not saying anything but simply looking at Sakura. Adelah shrugged Sakura's grip off her arm and simply walked a few steps forward. Without turning she said, "I suggest you stay away from that spirit, if you know what's best for you. It's got a job and it won't let even you get away with it if you try getting in its way…using the powers it can manipulate…"

"You almost talk as if you know this spirit…"

"……" Adelah's eyes seemed to have softened and looked a little disturbed. "More than you know…" With this, she walked towards her classroom. Sakura stood behind, running their conversations over and over in her mind. 'What did she mean by the powers of the dead? I wish I knew the answers… Everything seems too confusing…I…I…Am I not supposed to use the cards against this spirit? Could this be just a test? She seems to know about Eriol-kun, and about Clow Reed. Could Adelah… be a spirit herself in a form of human body?' Sakura walked on closer and closer to the classroom, but she suddenly felt her body limp. The corridors in front of her seemed to grow wider and narrower at the same time. Yet, she kept walking, shaking her head to relocate her thoughts. 'If I don't depend on my magic, what else can I turn to?' Her head started feel light as she felt her eyes not focus. 'The powers of Clow Reed, the power of my star- is there no light to fight this darkness? If my light is running short…where…where can I go to find what I need…to defeat this spirit…' Sakura stopped in her tracks, feeling completely helpless and uncertain of what to do with herself. Sakura slightly leaned against the wall and let herself slide down to her knees, closing her eyes...

_'The human body is so fragile…we all get injured once or twice…sometimes it doesn't hurt and sometimes it's fatal…and we all try to just…keep our body healthy…to live on…'_

_'…to live on…but…why…?'_

"Mo-mother…somehow…I really miss you right now…" She never realized how many spells she cast yesterday, and exactly how much power she was expending in full speed too. She opened her eyes wide, trying her hardest to regain some of her lost strength. She knew class has already started and before the teacher comes, she wanted to at least be in her seat, or else she would truly be marked as being tardy. Sakura got up slowly, as she held onto the window pane for support. But when she looked up- she was shocked to see the same dark figure from yesterday right in front of her. As it loomed over her, she felt herself being plunged into the darkness. She gasped for air, finding none but the hands of the being wrapped around her neck.

Sakura jumped up from the bed, practically screaming. Syaoran was by her side, as he abruptly held Sakura from jumping off her bed. Sakura's eyes were still filled with confusion. She simply let herself fall into his embrace. She gripped his shoulder tightly as she felt her heart racing. She blinked several times. Syaoran ran his hand over her head and the other calmly patting her back. Tomoyo was there as well, rather surprised and worried at Sakura's sudden reaction. Grabbing a chair, Tomoyo walked closer to Sakura's side so that she could sit next to her. Sakura looked around, slowly letting go of Syaoran. She realized she was in the nurse's office. She felt the light was too bright, as though she just came out of a cave to be only hit by the strong rays of the sun. Her eyes took a while getting adjusted to the brightness of the room. Syaoran looked closely at her, noticing that her eyes seemed different. She remained silent, however, never forgetting the chilly moment the figure looked directly into her face. Syaoran lightly touched her shoulder. As this grabbed her attention, she slowly raised her gaze towards him.

"Are you…all right..?" Syaoran asked, with his deeper voice filled with concern and worry.

"…yea…I think…it was only a dream…" Sakura gave an uneasy sigh, hoping that she would be safe now that she was the people she could trust and feel secure in. "…more like a nightmare though…" Tomoyo smiled a tensed smile, "Sakura-chan, tell us what happened..."

"Actually, I want to know what happened too… all I remember is feeling completely powerless and weak. I was thinking that it must have been due to the way I've suddenly used so much of my powers without even thinking twice about myself. Then…this was after my conversation with Adelah…too..." Syaoran raised his eyes, "Something about her is more than suspicious. She knows something- and I have a strange feeling it has something to do with that spirit. That spirit wasn't like the spirits we captured in the past, Sakura. This spirit is strangely familiar… I can't even explain it myself. There should be some harmony within its essence- containing both good and bad- but somehow there is no light within it… only darkness…and yet, we both feel somehow connected to this being…"

"Do you think that's how it is so powerful… because of darkness…?" Sakura pondered and asked.

"I don't know…I don't wish to think that at all…" Syaoran looked away slightly distressed. Tomoyo looked at both of them concerned, "Perhaps, it would be best to talk to Adelah about it. Would you want me to speak with her? She doesn't seem to be strongly against me in anyway."

Sakura shook her head, "No, Tomoyo-chan, I don't want you to stay too close to her. I'm… I'm a little scared perhaps. I don't want to think that she's using the spirit or even manipulating it- but I feel as though something horrible may happen if we draw too close to her. My dreams, these thoughts and everything- I can feel it. Somehow, I can't fight it even with these cards- I must face whatever it is without them… yet I feel that perhaps …HOPE…and LIGHT…can do something for us. Hmm, but even the Light was defeated once yesterday."

"What do you mean?" Syaoran asked as Tomoyo returned the same confused look at Sakura, as Sakura held her hand against her heart and closed her eyes. "I mean… these cards…and my power doesn't stand a chance against it…"

Meanwhile, at a prestigious university, a tall figure stood against a tree as though he was waiting for someone. He kept looking at his watch, wondering why his friend was not out of class yet or wondering what was taking his pale friend so long to meet him to eat lunch. Feeling a familiar presence, Touya turned around, believing it was Yukito. Unfortunately, it was just a girl with pale skin, who was simply walking past him. He looked closely at her, realizing that it was strange how it almost felt like Yukito. Finally, Touya grabbed his bag, realizing that there was no point in waiting.

"Hmm…maybe he was caught up doing something for the professor…" Touya walked away, heading towards the gym, and meeting few of his acquaintances who practiced basketball with him once in a while.

"Hey, Touya!" Touya gave them a quick nod as he opened his locker to put his belongings in. Then one of the guys looked at him, "Oi, Touya- did you notice Yukito was acting somewhat strangely today?" Touya looked at him, confused. "Actually, I didn't get to meet him today so I wouldn't know…" The guys exchanged confused looks as they continued, "Well… today, he seemed somewhat nervous or alarmed. In the middle of our Sociology class, he got up and ran out. I mean, I was about to run after him but I figured it must have been a bathroom break… after awhile, I realized he didn't come back." The other guys in Yukito's classes chimed in, "He didn't come to the classes afterward either…"

Touya took this seriously as his eyes wondered from the ground to his locker. He then grabbed his bag and shut his locker. "Uh...hey? Where are you going, Touya?" But before they could say anymore, Touya was running out of the gym and towards the school exit.

In Sakura's fragrant and decorated room, Kero had his little arms crossed, sitting upon the Sakura Book, which was filled with all her cards. And silently walking around her room was Yue, her second guardian gifted with the power of the Moon. His pale face made him look handsome and dim at the same time, as his long silver hair brought out his mystical features. His attire did not change, neither did his gloomy appearance and emotionless voice. He had a look of concern as he looked at Kero, who looked back at him.

"It's been a while, Yue. For some time you haven't popped up, especially since the day Sakura was able to stop the Void Card…" Yue looked away, as Kero started to flutter around to look at Yue. "That's because there is no need for my services, when Sakura is safe from harm of any kind. But before we start to talk about anything else, Cerberus, you know why I'm here, don't you?"

Kero's playful look suddenly turned to firm determination, "Yea… I know, Yue. You feel it too, right?" Even though Yue's eyes were filled with coldness, his intentions were never to reflect them in his tone of voice. He looked concerned as he let his eyes fall onto the Sakura cards, "Yea, I feel it too. But…I don't even know what it is…and…I'm worried about our mistress." Kero nodded as he stopped fluttering and landed close to the Sakura cards. Kero started to speak, "Hearing what happened yesterday, things are starting to become unclear again… like the days in the past. Yet things are different now… Sakura's level of magic has not grown in period of time and our enemy is someone we've never encountered before…"

Yue looked at Kero. "Are you sure about that…?" Kero looked back somewhat confused, "Unless, you recognize it- but for me, I've never felt this presence before." Yue's look became stern as he was about to speak, but stopped abruptly when he realized someone was rushing upstairs to this room. Kero yelped as he fluttered into the drawer, shutting it tightly, and Yue simply closed his eyes, letting a warm aura surround him. Sakura's door suddenly flung open as Touya intently looked around. Yet, no one was occupying the room. The window, however, was slightly open. Touya walked inside the room, examining the window and quietly shutting it. He looked at the drawer, which Kero occupied. Though Touya clearly knew everything about the guardians and about Sakura, he found it strange how Kero never tried to talk to Him or approach him. Therefore, Touya decided to make the first move. He got on one knee and opened the drawer. Yet, to his surprise, Kero was not present.

Yue stood on the roof of Sakura's house, with a reluctant Kero in his grip.

"Yue! What was that for! Grabbing me out of the blue" Kero started flying around again, letting some anger steam from his ears. "…Shh…" Yue looked down slightly as he turned back to face Cerberus. "Cerberus, I don't think our mistress would want us to give hints to anyone about the situation she is struggling with right now, especially her own brother…" Kero understood what he meant. He stopped his little tantrum and looked back at Yue as he continued, "Cerberus, I don't know why I feel this way, but I feel as though you and I know that strange figure…It doesn't seem distant, almost familiar."

Kero looked still uncertain, closing his eyes to think about all the past events he could think of. "Hmm… I don't know; I still don't get any mental picture in my mind…maybe it's because the figure has a strong presence that seems to linger as he passes by this quiet city…"

"No…" Yue looked distress, "…no…I could have sworn I felt this spirit before…if not in this world…then… perhaps within myself…"

_--------Preview of Next Chapter----------_

_Yukito: "…Yue…why are you still here…" _

_Yue: "Why… WHY am I hearing your voice so clearly?"_

_Both Syaoran and Sakura dashed towards the school building…"JUMP!" Sakura jumped, holding Syaoran's hand._

_(At night, in the park)_

_"I knew it…" Yukito whirls around to look. Touya started walking towards Yukito. "I figured something was weird since you left school so suddenly."_

_(In a strange dark blue environment)_

_Yue whirled around and abruptly raised his hands, flinging large crystallized icicles at the unwelcomed figure. He saw the black figure dodge every one of his attacks…_

_(At the roof top of the school)_

_"Who am I, you ask?" A strange deep voice resonated in the entire space Sakura and Syaoran occupied. _

_Yukito: "I want to be who I am…staying in one place with two beings…it's impossible…I want to be myself…"_

_Yue: "SHUT UP!" _

_----------------------------------------------- _


	4. Identity Crisis

Disclaimer: **Card Captor Sakura**: Copyright © 1998 CLAMP / Kodansha / NHK / NEP21.

Foreword: After confronting Adelah, Sakura realized Adelah was not to be trusted and even a potential threat to their peaceful life. What about Yue's strange reaction to what is happening? How is this darkness connected with all of them?

Card Captor Sakura: A Change of Kingdom

Chapter 4: Identity Crisis

Kero was fluttering around his room, feeling unsure of how to react to all that Yue told him. He was piecing everything together, remembering in their last conversation that Yue felt close to that spirit. Kero tightly shut his eyes, putting up a strain face. He focused and tried to remember everything- from the days of his creation, from the lovely days with Clow Reed, from the first day he was released from the Clow Book, finding Sakura and helping her. Yet, he realized, he didn't know anything about this strange spirit one bit. He scratched his huge head, feeling a little uneasy. It was quite late, and he looked at Sakura, who was already in bed fast asleep. He gave an uncertain stare and looked out the window, gazing into the moon. On the other hand, Yue stood by himself near a lake close to a park. As the lake shimmered with the reflection of the grand moon, the light reflected upon the trees and the darkness that surrounded Yue. From such a place, Yue seemed to glow with the same radiance and splendor of the moon. Unexpectedly, Yue felt his mind being invaded with words he couldn't explain. A strange sting of pain has bombarded his mind. He grabbed his head as he could hear Yukito's soft voice saying streams of words that were almost incoherent but quite clear.

"…Yue…why are you still here…are you there...Touya would be worried…I should be going back home now…hmm…how much longer will I have to do this…I wonder…are you there…am I still here…am I still myself..." Yue let both of his hands grab his head, and in frustration he muttered, "Be quiet… Why… WHY am I hearing your voice so clearly…?" Yet these voices came back only stronger, "…stop using me this way…I want to be who I am…staying in one place with two beings…it's impossible…I want to be myself…I want myself…I want"

"SHUT UP!" Yue heard his voice echo in the distance, as though the winds were carrying his words. Slowly, he felt the pain dissipate. He let both of his hands down, letting out a heavy sigh. Both of his eyes were filled with weariness. Somehow, he didn't understand why for the past few days he felt unsure of who he was. He felt captured, imprisoned, and unable to escape. If he could remember clearly, during the past month he was trying to release his energy to transform to his normal self. Yet it nearly took two hours for him to actually set himself free from Yukito's body. And during the past week, he felt a great need to talk with Cerberus himself. Nevertheless, a great opposition was faced as though there were bars and traps set for him…

_Opening his eyes, Yue concentrated his energy to releasing his true form through Yukito's body. Inside Yukito's mortal body and within a part of his soul, the environment was unfamiliar to the untrained eye. It's a picture of deep within everyone's spirit. It was a place like home, and yet almost distant as the stars in the sky. The place was saturated with the color of cerulean and mauve, oddly decorated with various springs of waters and mirrors that neither reflected one's own image nor acted as windows. As a warm aura started to surround Yue, suddenly a faint chill was felt in the air. Yue stopped and looked around, unsure of what this feeling was. _

_'Strange… It almost felt as though… someone else was here with me just now…'_

_As Yue continued to concentrate, he let a few seconds pass as the aura surrounded him again. Yet this time, Yue whirled around and abruptly raised his hands, flinging large crystallized icicles at the unwelcomed stranger. He saw a strange black figure dodge every one of his attacks, and finally the black figure stopped fleeing and before any of Yue's icicles struck him, the figure sank into the floor, as if the floor was permeable as water. He ran to where the stranger disappeared, as the move left some ripples upon the floor. Yue looked shocked as he suddenly sprung his wings within seconds and quickly flew straight above, turning around to see the enemy right underneath him, flying and chasing him as well. The enemy had no wings to elevate it, but its black cape seemed to flutter and spread wide across the shoulders as if they could carry the winds underneath. The hollowness of his appearance made Yue feel as though he was being chased by a large black cloth. _

_'It's fast…' Yue lifted himself higher and flung his weight behind him, letting his head fall back first as he was able to zoom past the dark figure with ease. The dark figure also twirled from side to side, spinning and making his dark cape whirl like a pinwheel. Yue looked behind him, finding the figure missing. Immediately he stopped but gasped as he felt himself suddenly sinking as the dark figure became a mass of darkness underneath him. Yet Yue took out his bow and raised five glittering arrows at the darkness that was trying to consume him. The darkness reacted with unease as it retracted its cape, letting the darkness slowly disappear around Yue, as the cape seemed to become its normal size. It quickly flew away to a safer place, yet Yue was determined to know what this figure was doing in Yukito's body, much less his own personal space. As Yue started following the spirit quickly, dodging, twisting and turning to avoid all the mirrors that stood in his path. The figure was slowing down and Yue looked unyielding, getting ready to strike, but the figure turned around and suddenly let out a pinkish aura, as the cape fluttered with intensity and curled up, solidifying and taking shape. _

_Yue abruptly stopped, for the black figure before him has transformed into a large black mirror that reflected Yue's own image. Yue curiously peered at the mirror, wondering how this had happened, and what he couldn't understand more was his own reflection. As Yue flew closer to the mirror, he realized in his own reflection he had no wings, though he was afloat. Yue squinted his eyes, trying to carefully examine his own appearance. But Yue's eyes widened, as he realized this reflection wasn't of him, but it was of Yukito, mirroring a strangely unfamiliar cold stare._

_"Yukito…?"_

_Suddenly the mirror shattered as the figure's cape twisted into large strings of black cloth that started to twist around Yue's body and cover his hands and his body. Yue struggled to set himself free as he winced in pain while the bands tightened around his body. He snarled at this situation, as he knew there was only one thing that could set him free from this. Yue lifted his arm as best as he could, right above him, as from his hands he summoned a shower of many sharp icicles to rain upon him. He felt the cloth, bit by bit, coming lose by his own icicles, one nearly strikes his cheek, but he barely dodged it. Yet, as best as he tried to avoid his own attack- he felt the sting of his own powers used against him to set himself free. The irony was quite perfect. Yue fell from the height he was floating in, as the pieces of cloth around him fell with him, torn from all sides and like black rose petals fluttered about Yue. Yue collapsed on the floor, as his body fell with a thump. Yue tried to lift himself up, but he felt his arms were faint and without strength, as they were barely able to lift him up. As the torn cloth pieces were falling next to him, they suddenly fluttered away and accumulated into one massive form. The form transformed back into the dark figure as it stood in front of Yue. Yue looked up and returned a cold look, feeling uneasy in his vulnerable position. Yet the dark figure simply walked away…and disappeared…_

He stood there, still contemplating but realized a certain someone would eventually get suspicious, if he was in this form any longer. Silently he spread his wings, and flew into the sky. Eventually ending up in a park next to Yukito's house, without thinking twice he changed back into Yukito. As the transformation took place, Yue's wings seemed to surround his entire body as an array of light formed around him. And as the wings disappeared like a mist, there was only Yukito, obviously not so certain of what happened. Yukito shook his head slightly.

"…so… it happened again…darn…" He gave out a quiet sigh but he stopped, noticing someone appeared from behind a tree. He was surprised to see Touya, standing there, obviously waiting for him to get home. Touya crossed his arms and looked at Yukito.

"I knew it…" Touya started walking towards Yukito. "I figured something was weird since you left school so suddenly. Yue may have tried to make it as inconspicuous as possible but… I had a weird feeling about it, since Sakura's been acting so strange lately…" Yukito's eyes looked down, somewhat upset by Touya's reaction to this. Touya looked somewhat disappointed as well and spoke. "I wish I could know what was going on with Sakura…I mean…I'm her brother…how much longer will they keep themselves from consulting anything with me…" Yukito, however, didn't say anything to this, which made Touya even more concerned. He slightly nudged Yukito on his shoulder.

"…Yuki… is everything okay?" Touya indeed looked worried for his friend, since Yukito seemed to be making a worried and angry expression at the same time. He couldn't understand what was going on in his friend's mind for the very first time. After all, this wasn't the first time it happened. Touya started to wonder if something else's been happening between Yukito and Yue. Yet, he decided to ignore that thought. 'If there was something as such, it would be something wrong with Yue…I mean, Yukito perfectly knows his responsibilities…' Touya stopped thinking about it, as he noticed Yukito started responding as his normal self. He gave him a warm smile and started, "I'm okay, Touya. I think I'm just a little tired…"

Seeing his friend return to normal, Touya smiled too, "Yea, you must beYue takes up a lot of energy, and you haven't ate lunch either. That would make a huge difference…" Sudden rumbles in his tummy made Yukito grab his stomach area with embarrassment, as he muttered, "Oh…yea… you're right…" Touya started walking ahead, "How about we grab a late night snack?" Yukito nodded with joy, "That would be great!" They took the street and both started walking away, one with relief to find his friend safe, another in slight disappointment within himself. Though Touya didn't notice Yukito's expressions were as plastered on his face as it could be, Yukito seemed to be hiding what he was truly feeling and perhaps he couldn't truly express what he was feeling inside when he transformed back into his normal self. Perhaps no one will ever discover what's been growing deep inside Yukito's heart and soul.

The next day, a strange fog surrounded the city. It was a colder day than most days of this city. The news stated the oddity of the weather weren't even showing up on the weather report. People reached for their jackets and scarf before they headed out towards school. As Sakura and Syaoran finished their day at school, they looked around to examine their environment. There was a strange sense of worthlessness and a weight of apathy in the air. Somehow, Sakura felt it was affecting her and Syaoran. She noticed how Syaoran looked gloomier than he usually did, and even shook his head once in a while, as though he was trying to keep himself awake. Sakura also realized that she felt without energy, and even too lazy to pull a bright joyous 'Good Morning' to the people she greeted this morning.

"I don't like the feeling of this…it's as though someone has cast a spell in this place without any of us noticing…" Syaoran said, without turning to look at Sakura. Sakura nodded in response to this, "Yea… I know what you mean…." Sakura lifted her head up slightly, trying to take in a deep breath but stopped half way when she saw someone standing on top of the roof of their school. Sakura squinted her eyes to try and retrieve a better description of the person. "Syaoran-kun…"

Syaoran turned around as he heard his name, and noticed her head tilted upwards. He looked up as well as both of them stared for a few seconds. Syaoran seemed to be just as confused as Sakura as he said, "Hmm…who could that be…?" Students were passing them without any thoughts of why this couple was looking towards the top of the building. Suddenly, Takashi and Chiharu popped in front of them.

"Hey!" Sakura and Syaoran broke their stare from the person on top of the building as they looked back at their friends with confusion.

"What's up, guys?" Chiharu asked sweetly, as she looked towards where they were looking. Takashi also chimed in, "Yes, we noticed you two were staring at the sky for a few second." He stood right next to Syaoran as he looked towards the direction Syaoran was facing. "Hmm… what were you guys looking at?"

Syaoran blankly responded to his friend's question, "… The person standing on top of the roof…"

Chiharu and Takashi, on the other hand, returned his emotionless statement with a perplexed answer, "Huh? Who are you talking about…?" That very instant, Sakura and Syaoran looked at each other with a look of alarm and new realization of who the person was. Both of them dashed towards the school building. Chiharu and Takashi on the other hand, were quite confused as they called after their friends who were now long gone. Sakura started up the stairs as they were pushing dumbfounded students away from their paths. Syaoran eventually was leading the flight to climb all the stairs to the top, as Sakura stopped for a moment to regain her stamina. Syaoran looked tired as well and stopped to catch his breathe as he looked at Sakura.

"Sakura, use dash and go on ahead of me…" Sakura shook her head as she took out her key, "…no… (Puff puff)…I have a better idea… RELEASE!" Sakura summoned her lovely staff as she whipped out the card of her choice from her back pocket and spun her staff with precision and stroked the card at the right point for the magic to be summoned. "THROUGH!" Syaoran's eyes got wide, as Sakura immediately grabbed him as she flipped out another card already and hit it with her staff, summoning, "JUMP!" Sakura jumped, holding Syaoran. Fortunately, the momentum of her jump was so fast that Syaoran was following right after her jump. Then in mere seconds, Sakura and Syaoran were flying right through every ceiling above them. And finally, they were through all the walls above and able to see the top of the roof under them. Syaoran and Sakura's hair were bellowing in the air, as they landed right behind the figure with great speed. Both cards were returned to their original state. Sakura and Syaoran's assumption about the person was correct, for its ghastly fluttering cape and dark demeanor one could not forget seeing it once. Ever so slowly, the dark spirit turned around to face them. Syaoran summoned his sword quickly as Sakura was just about ready to take out any of her cards. Sakura slightly looked below and realized people would be able to clearly see Syaoran and Sakura make strange movements, so she decided to let a little facade protect them from the eyes of the world. "ILLUSION!" Rays of light hit the four corner of the roof top as it headed up towards the sky and created a large box-like field on top of the roof.

As they were walking, Chiharu looked back really quick. Takashi asked, "What's wrong Chiharu?" She shrugged as she walked past him, "Heh, nothing, for a moment, I thought Sakura-chan and Li-kun were on the roof. Oh well, let's get going Takashi!" Takashi just walked away with her, as Sakura noticed people did not bother looking up at them. She was relieved and looked back at the dark figure, which started to slowly float towards them. Syaoran pointed his sword to the figure, "Who are you! Reveal yourself!" The dark figure stopped, as a strange moment of silence passed by them.

"Who am I, you ask?" A strange deep voice resonated in the entire space Sakura and Syaoran occupied. It didn't even feel as though it was coming from the figure, but from the air itself, as though words were spoken from the ground underneath them. A light chuckle was heard as well, which brought a great wave of uneasiness in Sakura's heart, as she fully recognized this chuckle and strange laughter.

_Suddenly, a strange laughter was heard. Sakura whirled around and looked about, but she couldn't find anyone. Yet the giggles, the laughter, and snickers were only getting louder. "What…" Feeling completely uneasy, she looked back at the tree, which was still standing without any darkness around it._

'It couldn't be…could it?' Sakura recognized it as the voice from her very dream or nightmare. The figure took a step forward as the tension was rising in her blood.

"Isn't that something you should be asking yourself, young lad? After all……isn't that the reason why you left your home to come here…?" Sakura blinked in confusion while Syaoran gave a look of surprise towards the figure. "Yes…you know perfectly well … all things you've learned… all except ……hmm…yourself…"

Sakura looked towards Syaoran, as she noticed Syaoran gripped his Chinese sword tighter than he did before. Syaoran shook away the look of shock and surprise as his look returned to the resolved and stubborn face, "I… I don't know what you're talking about…" Sakura noticed immediately the strength of his voice was lost. A strange feeling of regret and sorrow was resonating through Syaoran's voice, emotions that didn't fit his character. A look of worry stole Sakura's determined face as well. 'Syaoran-kun…what is the matter…what is he talking about……do you know something……'

"…My my…if that is so, won't you tell me…" The figure took another step forward. "…Who are you?"

Syaoran had a look of defeat, for no answer came to his mind. Feelings of emptiness and loneliness filled Syaoran's thoughts. These thoughts were not distant, but familiar to him. As though it was a battle he fought before, only to have to return and fight again. His face became blank as though he wished he had never encountered this figure. The figure's profound voice resonated, "…Yes…exactly…You're" Suddenly the figure lunged at Syaoran, which caught him by surprise. In the hand of the figure was a grand black sword, ready to pierce Syaoran instantly for the kill.

"SYAORAN-KUN!"

Syaoran was barely able to raise his sword to block the planned attack. As the empty face of the figure loomed in towards his, a great chill crawled up Syaoran's spine. Looking into the face of the stranger, Syaoran had to admit he was filled with pure fear to know that there was someone underneath the mask but nearly invisible within the darkness of its cape.

"Nothing!" With his voice booming in the atmosphere, the figure pushed off Syaoran's sword with ease. Yet Syaoran retaliated quickly with another strike, swirling around from the back to hit the figure on its shoulder, but the figure blocked it with his sword. "Yes…from the very end to now…You're NOTHING to me!" Suddenly Syaoran's sword shattered in two as the figure lunged his attack in full strength upon Syaoran's sword. Syaoran's look of shock stayed as he swayed back from the attack. The figure screeched as it flung towards Syaoran. In mere seconds, the figure quickly swung his sword with precision and skills that were beyond mere excellence. In such speed, it was difficult for Syaoran to read the moves of his enemy for time seemed to go too quickly. Syaoran dodged once, as he saw the sword flung towards his ribs. Syaoran twisted to the right side as he raised his right leg and turned to kick the figure. Yet the figure became a large mist and completely went through Syaoran to only solidify to its original shape right behind him. Syaoran whirled around the instant the figure had begun thrusting out his sword to strike Syaoran's heart.

"NOOO!" Sakura raised her staff …Yet it was too late …for the sword pierced right through Syaoran's heart and body…

_--------Preview of Next Chapter----------_

_Sakura shook her head in frustration "…no…how could this be…" _

_The figure walked with his sword flared in blue flames. The figure's deep voice resonated once again. "A mouse…trapped in the corner I would say…" _

_(In the dark alley)_

_Adelah spoke with confidence towards the dark spirit. "You won't have your way here…I won't let you." _

_School rooftop scene: Sakura shutting her eyes tightly, with a determined face…she twirled her staff to the side…_

_The figure gave a heavy chuckle, as it came in front of the girl, "She's weak…it is already a battle lost…"_

_Dream scene: 'Hope…yes…there is always HOPE!'_

_With the other hand flung out a card as she shouted out, "Reveal Yourself --- HOPE!"_

_The moment her staff hit her card, a great beam of light separated the dark clouds above them and blasted unto the roof. _

_---------------------------------------------- _


	5. Missing Hope

Disclaimer: **Card Captor Sakura**: Copyright © 1998 CLAMP / Kodansha / NHK / NEP21.

Foreword: Yue recalls a strange incident when he was fighting to actually come out and transform from Yukito's body. How is Yukito tied into this force that is preventing Yue to be himself? And what of Syaoran and Sakura fighting this strange spirit?

Card Captor Sakura: A Change of Kingdom

Chapter 5: Missing Hope

"NOOO!" Sakura raised her staff …Yet it was too late …for the sword pierced right through Syaoran's heart and body…

Syaoran's look of shock stayed almost as though the entire scene was a mere painting. Short giggles were heard from the air as the figure twisted the sword still pierced in Syaoran's body, but abruptly stopped in the process. Suddenly, the figure covered by the ghastly cape took out its sword from the body and shrieked with anger as it finally realized through the moment of victory, the one stabbed wasn't Syaoran at all. The Syaoran that it stabbed merely took a step back, allowing a faint bluish green aura surround him and transforming into the spirit belonging to the Mirror card. The figured whirled around to find the real Syaoran rushing in to hurl a fierce punch onto the face of the figure, but the figure immediately vaporized, causing Syaoran to nearly lose his balance from the speed at which he was ready to attack his enemy. The misty form regrouped at one of the corners of the building top. Syaoran and Sakura both turned to face their enemy. As the wind blew fiercely against them, the cape of the figure wavered with intensity. The figure stood facing its opponents. Syaoran got into a fighting pose next to Sakura, as she held some cards ready in her hands. They both knew this was going to be a longer and harder battle than they both anticipated.

As fewer students were leaving the school building, Adelah was slowly walking from the building. She was looking through some notes from her previous class and wondering what to do about tonight's dinner. Yet she stopped and slowly peered around her environment, feeling a strange aura and presence.

The figure jumped into the air and flung down towards Syaoran and Sakura, who immediately split up, as the figure whirled and quickly dashed towards Syaoran, still drawing its hazy yet solid black sword. Syaoran quickly dodged the incoming attacks with incredibly amazing speed. Every move of the enemy, Syaoran seemed to be one step ahead as finally he was able to give the figure a firm punch on the waist area, which made the figure stop for a second. Syaoran didn't miss this one second chance to follow its attack with a flow of combinations of more high punches and low punches, and finally whirling around to elbow the enemy's neck. This time the figure flung back, but still stood floating and appearing unaffected. The figure hissed, as it whirled around and blasted Sakura with an invisible force that let out a quick flash of black aura. Sakura yelped and fell back, as her Dash card returned to its card form.

Adelah whirled around and looked up as she realized the feeling came from the rooftop of the school. She narrowed her eyes to try and focus her vision. She saw the dark figure and its fluttering cape floating on the top of the roof. Adelah's eyes grew wide as she started running. With determination she spoke, "This time…for sure, they're not getting away…"

The figure then resumed attacking Syaoran but Syaoran jumped over the shadowy spirit, knowing perfectly well that he was already at a great disadvantage without the aid of great speed. He then tried to give another kick but the figure with one hand grabbed the leg and counterattacked by lifting himself up and sending a painful right kick on Syaoran's head, which made his body fall away a few steps away from the figure. Syaoran tried to get up quickly, but the figure was already at him again. The figure shrieked, as it jumped with its sword raised, ready to stab down upon Syaoran.

Syaoran moved to dodge away as Sakura yelled, "WOOD." From all corners of the building top, streams of twisted branches sprang up and wrapped around the figure. Syaoran caught his breath and looked up, as he saw the figure being continually wrapped like a mummy. Then it seemed as though the building shook for Syaoran and Sakura fell from the lost of balance. A most horrible roar was heard, which sent a cutting edge fear down Syaoran and Sakura's necks. The Wood card flashed wildly as it fell limp upon the floor and the figure's ghastly claw-like hand ripped open through the wrappings of the branches and tore its entrapment into shreds. Sakura's grew angry and even more resolute as she gripped her staff and took out the Storm card. The figure then raised its hand. Even before she called upon it, the Storm flashed so wildly that she wasn't even able to control it. The Storm card's effect was supposed to be upon the figure to limit its movement but instead it surrounded Syaoran instead. "What the!" Syaoran was shocked as he was now trapped and unable to move from within the whirling winds.

"Syaoran-kun!" Sakura ran towards him but the figure, with its cold ghastly hand, grabbed Sakura and threw her harshly against the wall. Sakura gave a little cry as she fell to the floor from the force of this attack. She gathered her breath as she saw the figure, paying no heed to her and simply walking towards the Stormy cage, in which Syaoran was trapped in.

Sakura shook her head in frustration "…no…how could this be…" Flashes of her nightmare came upon her, almost to compare this horrible current event.

_Still under the protection of the Shield card, Sakura screamed as a ground breaking meteor strike, a combinational attack from Firey and Earthy broke the protection of the Shield. "What!" Suddenly Sakura thought, 'Wait, the Shield is able to protect any magical attack, no matter how strong the force….that means…' She looked at her most trusted elemental cards, as they hovered over her triumphantly. Sakura stood before them, reaching out her staff, "I command you, return!" But they all stayed floating, and a few moments passed as Sakura couldn't believe her very eyes. She saw Dash, Little, Big, Fight, Mirror, Silent, Mist, Sand, Twin, and all her beloved cards unleashed and looking towards her with grim faces. "No….what is going on…?"_

The figure walked towards the Whirling cage, as his sword glistened blue and flared up with blue flames. The figure's deep voice resonated once again. "A mouse…trapped in the corner I would say…"

A malicious chuckle could be heard as Syaoran looked about, seeing quick shadows appearing and disappearing from side to side, through the turbulent surroundings. 'I've got to get out of here, or this could be my end…' Suddenly, he saw a blazing sword flash in. Syaoran barely dodged to the side, as the steam from the winds and fire increased the power of the sword even more. Syaoran looked about, finding the sword stabbing in and slicing through the windy cage. Syaoran dodged quickly in the limited space. He knew, however, this could not last forever.

He then took out a sheet of talisman paper as he yelled, "THUNDER IGNITE!" Unfortunately, the force of the winds repelled the thunder. "Che…" Syaoran was frustrated and angry as he already knew that the figure was going to strike soon. Then it came, the flaming sword moved quickly and sliced on through, Syaoran kneeled away but also jumped to side and side. Finally, in his peripheral view, he felt an attack was coming. He shut his eyes as he tried to dodge it, 'Damn it…this is it!'

"SWORD!" The clash of swords was heard from behind.

Syaoran opened his eye in shock as he saw Sakura's sword pierced through the Storm and blocked the impeding attack towards Syaoran. The Storm card fluttered onto the floor as the extent of its power was used up. The gusty atmosphere disappeared as Sakura and the ghost-like figure stood with their swords against each other.

The figure hissed with great anger, "FOOLISH GIRL! Do you still not understand!" The Sword card flashed. The figure pushed Sakura back with great force, and while Sakura was flown back, the figure hurled five flaming arrows from its hand at her.

"Watch It!" Syaoran immediately grabbed her from the air as they both rolled together on the roof floor. Sakura's sword disappeared and returned into the staff again. Sakura opened her eyes as Syaoran slowly got up, panting. Clearly they were both more than defeated and worn out from this battle. Their enemy was not only more powerful than them; it also used their own powers against them. It was a battle that could not be won. The figure walked closer and closer. Every step seemed to bring another trickle of sweat down their faces.

Sakura gripped her staff. "…there must be way…we can't…we can't lose…" Sakura took out her cards, and held them tightly, almost afraid to see them shining uncontrollably. Syaoran got in front of Sakura, in a protective manner. Sakura, however, was trying to shuffle through every card, but found her hands shaking as she flipped them through. She clearly knew nothing would work against their enemy and she realized how desperate the situation has become. "…I…I can't……"

_Feeling her strength fading, she started to slow down, "I can't…I can't…" Suddenly she heard a familiar voice, "PLEASE DO NOT GIVE UP!" Sakura looked ahead and saw THE HOPE spirit, (the combination of the Void Card and Hope Card from the Second Movie) reaching its arms out to her, "You can make it! COME…" Sakura felt her body slowly restoring its energy. 'Hope…yes…Yes, there is always HOPE!"_

Sakura's eyes grew wide, as she realized there was still one card that she never used. The figure stopped a few steps away from them and raised his hand with the sword. The sword was right before Syaoran, but Syaoran didn't move away nor look away from the figure's evil demeanor. They had nothing to fight with and nothing to use to defend themselves. The figure then raised its other hand. That very moment, all of Sakura cards seemed to flutter about and flash randomly. Sakura knew that her cards would be no more if this continued.

"Not so fast!" Sakura swung her staff and called out, "LIGHT!" Her staff met with the Light card and an outburst of light surrounded Syaoran and Sakura. The flashing of the other cards were beginning to slow down as well. The figure backed up for a moment. It then let the sword from his hand disappear and snapped its wrinkly fingers. One by one, all the spirits of the cards were materializing just like the scene of her dream. Yet before anything happened, Sakura didn't lose this opportunity to release all the power she ever had, shutting her eyes tightly, with a determined face, she twirled her staff to the side, and with the other hand flung out the Hope and called out, "Reveal Yourself HOPE!"

A great beam of light separated the dark clouds above them and blasted unto the roof. The force materialized, as fragments of light shaped like feathers glistened and fluttered away with the winds. Syaoran was taken aback by the power of this spirit and Sakura's narrowed her eyes as the bright light engulfed everyone. As the light slowly faded, there was the spirit of Hope, shining as though she was bright as the sun and the moon, with rays of many stars surrounding her. Syaoran and Sakura were barely able to find any real physical features for she was glowing with such radiance. Yet the words that were being spoken in the air could not be understood—it was a language that Sakura and Syaoran could not understand. Sakura and Syaoran looked at each other confused and wandering what was going on.

The dark spirit spoke back towards the direction of Hope, hissing with displeasure "…The folly of her actions will cost her dearly… to summon upon you was a great risk…we all know the consequences…if she ever do succeed, her eyes will be opened...and she will see the truth……But…do you expect me to simply allow that to happen……" The Hope spirit spoke with her gentle feminine voice, "It is a chance that she was willing to take…" and she turned as though to speak with another presence. More words of that could not be understood or translated were spoken. The voice was soft and small, but it was at the same time, full of power. Syaoran grabbed Sakura's shoulder, as she turned to him.

"Sakura, who is speaking right now…?" Sakura simply shook her head. "I…I wish I knew…" Sakura looked intently into the great Light that was surrounding Hope, and for some strange reason, she knew that it was not Hope that was shining with such great splendor but the presence of the one accompanying Hope.

The dark figure backed off and nodded as though it understood. Syaoran and Sakura looked on, as the figure raised its hand towards the sky as the sky darkened. The light of Hope started to dim and the twelve stars that slowly spun around Hope one by one blasted towards the sky and like shooting stars fell an incredible distance away from where they were. The Hope card began to flash. One by one, every other card returned to Sakura in their normal state. Sakura was bewildered but she opened her palm so that her cards could return to her. The light of hope has disappeared and slowly the figure faded away as well.

'…no…no…this can't be…why is this happening…'

Sakura ran towards Hope, "Wait! Hope! HOPE!" The moment Sakura was in contact with Hope, there was a glitch in the realities. Sakura opened her eyes and found herself in a most strange place. She looked about for she had no idea where she could be. The place was tinted a pinkish mauve color with springs of waters and mirrors floating around in various places. She slowly looked up and gasped. Above her was one of the most beautiful skies she has ever looked upon, with a river of bright stars making way towards the heavens and other bright lights scattered about- all varying in different intensity of heat. She looked around her environment again, "…oh…where could this be?"

"You are looking at a masterpiece…" Sakura whirled around as she saw the spirit of Hope standing before her without the same radiance as before. "…you are looking into your soul…" Though she heard the streams of words enter her mind, Hope did not open her mouth while she was speaking…

"Hope…" Sakura walked towards Hope but Hope sadly took a step back.

"I'm sorry…Sakura…I will not be able to help you in this fight… not until you can complete this ordeal..." Sakura's face dropped as she felt her heart feel heavy with sadness. Hope began to speak again, "Sakura…I can only say so much to you…"

"…Why…" Sakura looked below her; her heart was filled with so many questions.

Hope stopped speaking, for she knew that Sakura had too many troubled thoughts to even receive her words. "Why…Why is this happening!" Sakura raised her head up, as her hair and her bangs slightly bobbed. She looked into Hope's face with a painful expression, "I thought…I thought you would be there…! You were the only one there in my dream! Was that all a lie! The darkness was everywhere, I couldn't breathe – I couldn't THINK! I wanted to do something… but I couldn't… Nothing I did was good enoughnothing I had was good enough against it. Nothing… nothing was able to fight it, Hope. But you……I called to you…I ran to you…You called out to me…" She started to strain for her voice to come out clearly as it echoed inside the space they occupied. Her voice was cracking with anger and sadness brewing inside, "…Is…is…everything I trusted…everything…I trusted up to now…worth Nothing!" Sakura felt her tear drops fall lightly from her face.

Hope stood still, her eyes slowly closing. "…you will understand soon…for it was not I that you embraced in your dreams, it was not I who called out to you… Sometimes, the giver of such dreams will use what you can understand to represent what you have yet to see or know…" Hope raised her hand and one of the twelve stars that once surrounded her before they disappeared into the sky was in her palm.

"I have no light that can give you guidance, but there was a light once long ago, that guided people to a place of true hope and love…and it is still here, perhaps you can find it…" The star shined brightly and floated towards Sakura. Sakura, still broken and confused, raised her hand and calmly sniffed and cleared her throat. The star was in her hand. It was indeed beautiful and warm. The star floated above her and then shot up towards the beautiful sky. She looked above and the star stopped as it was embedded into the velvet sky above her. It was the brightest star she has ever seen, and it was glistening with such luster that it was beyond any stars around it.

"…You will find what you seek…Sakura…" Sakura looked back at Hope. Hope opened her eyes and gave her a most reassuring smile filled with warmth, "The Lord of Hosts will not leave you to your doom……it'll be okay- believe/ Daijobu shinjitaeru (Japanese)…" A wave of light engulfed Sakura and Hope.

Sakura woke up and found herself where she originally was, on the rooftop of her middle school. No one but Syaoran was there; everything else was gone. No dark figure and no Hope. Her eyes closed. Taking a deep breath, she slumped onto the floor. Syaoran ran to her side, as he gently put one hand on her shoulder, "Sakura…are you all right?"

She slightly looked back at him, "What…what happened here just now?"

"…I'm not sure either…when you were running after Hope card, a strange light surrounded you and I couldn't even reach you. Then dark figure disappeared and the Light that surrounded you vanished with it." Syaoran looked worried because traces of Sakura's tears were still left on her face. He held her hand and gently lifted her up. She stumbled a little and looked into his eyes. He looked back into hers. A moment of silence passed by before he spoke, "Will you be okay?"

"I…I guess…" Sakura looked down as she spoke to herself, 'no… you don't even know the answer to that……' Sakura gave out a little sigh as she shook her head, 'what are you thinking… you can't look so defeated now…everything…everything will be okay…daijobu…' She looked back at Syaoran and asked, "I…should be okay…How about you? Are you all right…?"

Syaoran walked towards the edge of the roof and looked at his watch. Noticing it was already six o'clock, he looked back at Sakura, who stood still with a tired face. He gave her a weak but tired smile, "Yea…I'm okay…" Syaoran's tired voice continued, "We should head back home…it's getting late…" Sakura slightly nodded.

"C'mon…I'll walk you home…" Syaoran gently said.

They slowly walked down the flight of stairs. Finally, they reached the outside of their school and headed towards home. Adelah stood against the side of the building. She walked around the corner and watched them walk away, tired and weary. She looked on with a worried expression and sighed, "I warned her so…Perhaps, this is for the better."

Adelah walked a little further but stopped as she noticed the dark figure appeared next to her. She turned to look at it with a nonchalant face. "What you are planning to do isn't going to work…." She spoke with confidence towards the dark spirit. "You won't have your way here…I won't let you."

The Dark figure hissed as it spoke, "Why don't you let me leave this place then? You could send me into the fields over in the country side, but you allow me to stay…" Adelah started walking away, but it continued, "I know what you can do…I know what lies within you…why not send me away now and get this battle over with…!"

"…no…" Adelah turned to look at the figure, "I will not turn aside what was placed in your hands. I know what I must do…And I know what she must do…You can't steer away my thoughts from my responsibilities…"

The figure gave a heavy chuckle, as it came in front of the girl, "She's weak…it is already a battle lost…there is no use for you to invest your time into her...you can already imagine all that I can use against her…you can see it- for the possibilities are endless…stop what you are doing…and leave this place…it's not where you belong…" Streams of voices from all different directions spoke to Adelah.

Adelah glared back at the face of darkness, "That's not for you to decide. Stop your lies and leave me be!" A great hush was upon the figure as it faded away, camouflaging into the darkness.

_--------Preview of Next Chapter----------_

_Yukito to Touya: "What would you do if your most treasured friend couldn't be with you anymore…?"_

_Syaoran closed his eyes, reflecting upon the events of his life that led him back to the placed he called home. _

_Syaoran's house scene: The man spoke up in his deep voice, "So…Ieran-sama, this is your youngest child?" Syaoran's mother nodded. "Yes, he's my only son, Akui-san."_

_…Akui raised his hand and nearly hit Syaoran on the side of his head. Akui grinned with amusement, as Syaoran struck back. He stopped all Syaoran's attacks with his metal rod._

_Yukito was standing by himself inside the park. Suddenly, a large figure appeared behind him, rising from the ground. The figure spoke with the same deep resonating voice, "Have you made your decision…?"_

_Syaoran's house scene: Akui let go of the rod and with the same hand, struck Syaoran's hand. As Syaoran lost the grip on the rod, Akui grabbed the rod from falling and used it to trip Syaoran. Syaoran fell on his back and before he could get up, he felt the cold metal staff against his cheek_

_------------------------------------------------------_


	6. Reflections

Disclaimer: **Card Captor Sakura**: Copyright © 1998 CLAMP / Kodansha / NHK / NEP21.

Fanfic writer's note: I appreciate everyone who reviewed my story, thus far. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Foreword: During the last moments of the battle against the Dark Spirit, Sakura calls upon the spirit of the Hope card. Unexpectedly, Sakura watches as the Dark Spirit, the Hope card, and another unknown presence negotiate and come upon a conclusion. In confusion and brokenness, Sakura finds herself lost and without hope… or is there…?

Card Captor Sakura: A Change of Kingdom

Chapter 6: Reflections

Touya was in his room, as he was looking through the textbooks of the upper division math courses. He slightly tilted his head, as he was getting not only bored but tired of looking into the books for so long. He sighed as he lifted his head and let it fall back, closing his eyes to relax for a few moment before resuming his studies. A light knock on the door opened his eyes. The door opened as Yukito came in with a tray of fresh fruits and a cup of coffee. Yukito beamed with a bright smile as he let it down on the desk, where Touya was sitting. Touya smiled back as his best friend took up a chair and sat next to him.

"Still studying for that exam tomorrow, huh?" Yukito asked.

"Heh…yea. I still have a good three hours before I knock out. Man, I knew I shouldn't have procrastinated…" Touya chuckled a little, as he slid his right hand through his hair. He then reached for the cup of coffee, (ah the good college life) and looked at Yukito, "Thanks, Yuki."

Yukito returned a warm smile, but his smile slowly faded into a worried expression. Touya was starting to nibble on some fruits, as Yukito began to speak up. "Um…you know, Touya…" Touya gave his friend his attention, as he spoke up, "Hm?"

Yukito looked back at him, quite unable to fix his eyes directly at Touya's eyes. "Well…I was wondering…just…about some things…"

Touya looked worried now, "Is…something the matter…?"

"…What would you do if your most treasured friend couldn't be with you anymore…?"

Touya was silent as his eyes didn't seem to completely register the question. He thought about it, nonetheless, as he stared into space for awhile. Yet Touya simply looked back at Yukito, "Hmm…I'm not too sure…" A moment of silence passed before Touya presented his thoughts, "If you couldn't be with the one you cared for… I suppose there is nothing to it…when the opportunity shows itself; you find a way to get back together. In other case, if there is a reason they can't be together… then why should they neglect the reason? Even if it's for some small reason…if something as trivial as a reason is built between you and your closest friend in the first place..." Touya looked somewhat bitter as the scene of his last time with Kaho Mizuki flashed through his mind, "…then there is no point in finding a way to come closer…because sooner or later…another reason to not stay together will present itself…"

Yukito looked at Touya surprised by his answer. "Oh…I see…" Yukito looked uncertain and Touya clearly noticed something was wrong. "Yuki… something's wrong isn't it…?" Yukito just grinned, "You know me too well… sorry, Touya. Right now I'm not going to share it with you. Maybe later…" Yukito got up as he headed for the door, Touya thought maybe he should probe it out of him, but he knew that wasn't necessary. Yukito was his best friend, if he wanted to tell him or needed to, he would. Touya got out of his chair, as he decided to walk his friend out.

In the meantime, Sakura and Syaoran were walking side by side. Sakura looked at Syaoran, who obviously looked as though he had many things in mind, just as she did. Sakura wanted to lean closer to his side, but found her cheeks blushing so she resumed to her usual position. She turned to look back at him. His eyes looked weary, his clothes a little messy, and his sleeves dirty from falling many times. She realized she didn't look any better either. She sighed as she put her right hand up to put her bangs behind her ears. Syaoran spoke up, which made Sakura jump a little. "How are you feeling?" Sakura shrugged as she was trying her best to think about all that has happened. "Truthfully, I don't know what I'm feeling…sometimes I feel scared…unsure…and I guess a little discouraged…" Sakura looked back at him, as she tried to pull a smile. He returned a concerned look. He leaned closer to her and he gave her shoulder a reassuring grip. "It'll be all right… no matter what happens… this wasn't the first time we were put into a position like this…" She smiled and nodded, "I know…it's justit's different from the battles before. I feel as though, my entire being is tied into this fight…" Syaoran looked a little puzzled as he said, "What do you mean…?"

Sakura shook her head, "I don't know how to explain it either, but every time we're against the phantom, I feel my heart shaken, my mind unfocused, my whole body fall limp, and I don't know, something in my heartmy soul…I feel like I forget who I am or why I am or …… I don't know…" Syaoran noticed Sakura was more than just tired, her hands were shaking and her lips were quivering. Syaoran came closer, as his hand was reaching for her hands. Unfortunately, a familiar voice stopped his advance to comfort her.

"Sakura?"

Sakura and Syaoran both looked up as they noticed they were already in front of her house. Yukito and Touya just came out of the house, and they noticed Sakura and Syaoran standing and facing one another. Touya, the one who called out to his sister, looked intently at Syaoran, as his eyes grew big after recognizing who he was. Syaoran returned a cold and nonchalant stare back at him. Though they're not enemies, they aren't anything close to being brothers or friends either. Yukito and Touya walked towards them, as Sakura quickly wiped her eyes from the tears that started as she talked with Syaoran. Yukito gave a worried look to Sakura and Syaoran, "Did…uh…something happen? Sakura-chan, why are you crying?" Sakura shook her head abruptly, "Oh oh No no no, I- I wasn't"

"What? Sakura? CRYING?" Touya ran to his sister's side as he examined her. Then he stared back at Syaoran with a look that could kill, "You….What did you…" Touya suddenly stopped as he started to examine Syaoran's dirty and tattered clothing, and he turned back and looked at Sakura whose clothes was also quite dirty and unkempt. Syaoran just returned a calm look. Touya then glared at him, "What happened to you guys?" Syaoran turned away, looking a little annoyed, "None of your business…" Touya's eyes flared, "Why you little…"

Sakura looked so confused and shocked with a worried expression. "AH ONICHAN don't look so angry at Syaoran-kun. It was nothing… really!"

Yukito laughed, "Just like old times, huh Touya?" Touya and Syaoran returned a smug look at him as they both grumbled and turned away from one another. Touya then retorted, "Well…. Aren't you going home yet, kid!" Sakura looked angry at her brother, "MUO, ONICHAN!" She went over to Syaoran quickly as she gave a quick bow of apology for her brother, "Sorry, Syaoran-kun, I'll see you at school tomorrow. Yea?" She gave a sweet smile at Syaoran, as he returned a warm look, "Good night then…" He turned around and nodded at Yukito, who replied, "See you around, Syaoran." Then Syaoran returned a once again similar nonchalant look at Touya, who returned the similar glare.

As Syaoran walked away, Sakura turned around angry at her brother, "ONICHAN! Why do you have to be so mean to Syaoran-kun, all the time! MUO!" Touya then put his hand under his chin, thinking intently, "Hmm…still can't trust him…." A huge sweat drop floated on top of Yukito's head as he sighed. "Hahaha, well then, I'll be going back home then." Sakura looked back at Yukito, "Oh, Yukito-san, I hope to see you again soon. Walk home safely." Yukito smiled, "Thanks, Sakura. Good night guys…" Touya waved good bye, "I'll see you tomorrow, Yuki." Yukito started to walk away, but Sakura turns to look towards the way Syaoran walked away, which made Touya obviously unhappy.

"Hey, monster Let's get inside! Hmph!" Touya started going inside the house, as Sakura somewhat pouted, and followed after her older brother.

_"Isn't that something you should be asking yourself, young lad? After all……isn't that the reason why you left your home to come here…?" Sakura blinked in confusion while Syaoran gave a look of surprise towards the figure. "Yes…you know perfectly well … all things you've learned… all except ……hmm…yourself…" _

Remembering the strange words from the Phantom, Syaoran shook his head. "It doesn't make sense… talking as though he knows what's going on… in my life…"

_"…My my…if that is so, won't you tell me…" The figure took another step forward. "…Who are you?" _

_Syaoran had a look of defeat, for no answer came to his mind. Feelings of emptiness and loneliness filled Syaoran's thoughts. These thoughts were not distant, but familiar to him. As though it was a battle he fought before, only to have to return and fight again. His face became blank as though he wished he had never encountered this figure. _

Syaoran looked back at his talisman. Tracing the artistic details on the inscriptions and metallic designs with his thumb, he sighed. He knew somehow exactly what Sakura was feeling and thinking.

_"I don't know how to explain it either, but every time we're against the phantom, I feel my heart shaken, my mind unfocused, my whole body fall limp, and I don't know, something in my heartmy soul…I feel like I forget who I am or why I am or …… I don't know…" _

Syaoran closed his eyes, reflecting upon the events of his life that led him back to the placed he called home. From the time, he left Japan after helping Sakura capture the greatest Clow Card, the Void Card; he clearly remembers the rigorous training he went through. Sitting inside the small training dojo, eleven year old Syaoran waited for his new instructor. Suddenly, two shadows loomed over the steps. Syaoran looked towards the door, as he saw his mother standing with a tall man. The tall man had a strangely cold glint in his eyes. His age was uncertain, but he did seem around his late twenties or early thirties. He was physically well built, having stern facial features. His gray hair was long and thus tied in a long pony tail. He wore a traditional black Chinese robe, richly adorned with designs of dragons. In his right hand, he held a short metal rod that had a golden emblem on both ends of the rod. Syaoran got up and bowed, knowing fully well that this man was his new instructor. The man walked into the dojo. Every part of his footsteps echoed softly, as his mother's soft footsteps were heard from behind. The man spoke up in his deep voice, "So…Ieran-sama, this is your youngest child?"

Syaoran's mother nodded. "Yes, and my only son, Akui-san." Akui took a step forward Syaoran as he simply watched. Akui, however, raised his hand and nearly hit Syaoran on the side of his head, but Syaoran quickly blocked with his much smaller hands. Akui quickly moved the same hand again to strike Syaoran, who ducked it. Syaoran was clearly caught off guard but lucky enough to avoid his attacks. Syaoran narrowed his eyes, realizing that this new instructor was already testing his skills. Akui was too quick for Syaoran, for soon, Syaoran was not the one defending but rather retaliating. Akui grinned with amusement, as Syaoran struck back. Akui, however, didn't take a moment to waste. He stopped all Syaoran's attacks with his metal rod. Syaoran's hands were red; he realized that striking the metal rod had already begun to bruise him. Syaoran's mother simply stood from afar, watching the entire battle. Syaoran then began to see the Akui's rod that came to strike his shoulder, but Syaoran quickly grabbed the rod, instead of blocking it. He held it firmly, and pulled himself closer to Akui to kick him, but Akui grinned as he twisted the rod slightly, and pulled, letting the true length of the rod be revealed. Syaoran was surprised as the balance of his grip on the rod was lost. Akui let go of the rod and with the same hand, struck Syaoran's hand. As Syaoran lost the grip on the rod, Akui grabbed the rod from falling and used it to trip Syaoran. Syaoran fell on his back and before he could get up, he felt the cold metal staff against his cheek. Akui stared down on him, obviously not proud that he beat a boy so young of age. He then lifted the staff and twisted it, making it return to its original shape. Syaoran panted as he slowly got back up. Syaoran held his wrist, for it started to swell already from all the hits from the rod. Akui turned around and looked to Syaoran's mother.

"It seems he has passed the test, Ieran-sama. I shall start instructions as early as tomorrow…" With this, Akui bowed his head to Syaoran's mother, who also bowed her head slightly less than him. Syaoran stared at Akui, who simply walked out of the dojo. Though Syaoran didn't notice during the entire fight, he realized that his new instructor never raised the left hand while sparring him.

The next few years, Syaoran trained with the mysterious man named Akui. Syaoran did not care less whether Akui would be his permanent instructor, but something about this man seemed surreal. Akui was obviously not interested in mentoring Syaoran in anything else but martial arts and the Chinese arts. Throughout the five years, Syaoran trained with Akui, Syaoran did not learn about his instructor beside his name. Akui was strict, as well as demanding of Syaoran's physical and mental capabilities. Though Syaoran started feeling distant and uncertain about his instructor, his mother was nonetheless pleased with Syaoran's quick improvement with his skills. Thus, Akui was asked to stay longer with the family.

It was Syaoran's twelve's birthday. Syaoran walked into his room, as he was finding a change of clothes to begin his training again. Suddenly, as he was changing his shirt, Meilin burst into the room. Meilin, with her hair in two long ponytails, furiously blushed and screamed. "AHHHHHHH! SYAORAN!" Syaoran quickly hid himself behind the door of his closet, yelling back to his cousin, "MEILIN! THE LEAST YOU COULD DO IS KNOCK BEFORE YOU COME IN!" Meilin ran out of the room again, shutting the door tightly behind her. Syaoran sighed, as he finished changing quickly before his impatient cousin might storm into his room again. As he was ready to open the door, he heard Meilin giggling on the other side of the door. Suddenly, the door flew open and Meilin jumped into the room. "ARE YOU DONE YET? GEESH, takes you so long just to get dressed, Syaoran" Syaoran jumped back and looked smugly at his cousin, "Meilin… what's going on now?"

Meilin giggled, "What do you mean, what's going on? Don't you even know what today is, silly?" Syaoran shrugged as he started to gather his belongings to head towards the dojo. He didn't want to forget anything to make Akui grow angry and throw down a punishment. "Syaoran! Today is your birthday! Don't you even remember?"

Syaoran didn't look back at her, as he was getting his talisman (sword). "Even if it was my birthday, I'm busy with training. I don't have time to celebrate…" Syaoran turned around as he saw Meilin get a sneaky grin on her face. "Tehehe, well, I suppose sosince you must end your training quickly to meet ahem you know who…" Meilin winked as she walked closer to Syaoran, "Which reminds me, this came for you today! Teehehee"

Syaoran looked surprised as he received a box addressed to him. Looking at the return address, it was from Sakura. He couldn't help but pull a grateful smile. He looked back at Meilin, who smiled sweetly back at him. "Thanks, Meilin…" Meilin laughed and said, "No need to thank me, NOW OPEN IT NOW! I'm so CURIOUS of what's inside!" Syaoran sat down on his bed, as Meilin plopped right next to him. Though Syaoran didn't want to show it, he felt a warm sensation swell inside. It's been a few months since he spoke to Sakura through the phone. Syaoran smiled as he opened the box, after tearing away at the postal tapes. Meilin peered over and saw that it was a video tape. "OOOOH!" Meilin seemed almost more excited than Syaoran. Syaoran took out the video tape and examined it. He looked at Meilin and grinned, "Well, another one of Sakura and Tomoyo's screening. Care to watch it?" Meilin laughed and jumped back up from the bed. "Would I dare? Tehehhe, what if she says something to you that I shouldn't be hearing?" At this Syaoran couldn't help but blush, "Hmph, well then, you don't have to watch it with me." But Meilin quickly jumped in front of Syaoran, "BUT! Since you so insist I shall accompany you and watch it, tehehhe. LET's GO!"

Turning the tape on, Syaoran and Meilin looked intently towards the screen. Syaoran smiled as he heard Sakura's sweet voice again. On the screen, Sakura turns around in a cute flowery dress, probably made by Tomoyo again.

"Uh…how does it look on tape, Tomoyo-chan?"

"Tehehe, it looks just fine, Sakura-chan." Kero flies in from the side, letting his plump head, cover half of the screen.

"Geck why do I have to be in the video for that brat's birthday!"

"KERO-CHAN be nice!"

"Fine fine… geesh." The screen shook a little as Kero disappeared from the screen.

"Tehehe…" Tomoyo came next to Sakura as they both bowed to the screen and yelled, "Happy Birthday, Syaoran-Kun!"

"Though it's been a while, we wanted to let you know that people here still think of you and just so that you wouldn't forget anything here, we'll show it all in this tape." Sakura smiled as this sweet moment disappeared with Kero's nonstop complaining.

"Okay, this thing is getting heavy now Sakura Tomoyo ack, I'm gonna drop it!"

"Teehehe, hai hai." Tomoyo walked towards the screen. The screen was cut off as it resumed to the next scene. The scene switched back and forth to various people, including Rika, Takashi, Chiharu, and Naoko. The next screen showed Sakura attempting to make a cake with the sweet card. Sakura smiled as she looked towards the screen.

"Eh…it's been a while since I used any of my cards, Syaoran-kun. But I did practice a little, so I'm sure I could do this right. Tehehe." Kero's voice interrupted. "Hehehe, not to mention all the cards you started to mess up on, making everything float around and even" Sakura's face turned pink quickly, "Muo, Kero-chan!" Kero and Tomoyo's laughter could be heard from the background. Sakura closed her eyes, as Syaoran looked with a warm smile. He realized the less he sees her, hears her, and senses her near, he starts to miss her more and more. Sakura called on her staff, "Release!" And she twirled it around and finally struck The Sweet card. "SWEET!" Sakura then took out another card, "FLOWER!"

Meilin smiled as she saw a wonderful bouquet was created as well as a gorgeous cake. "WAH Haha It worked!" Sakura smiled as she looked at the screen again. Meilin giggled, "Tehehhe wow, they really must have had fun making this video. Neh, Syaoran?"

Suddenly, a loud clamor was heard behind them, as they whirled around. Akui stood behind them, staring wide-eyed unto the screen. Syaoran quickly got up, as did Meilin. "Uh- sensei…teacher, in Japanese…"

Syaoran noticed Akui dropped his staff. Akui stepped forward, not taking his eyes off the screen. Meilin looked quite puzzled as she stared back at Syaoran. Akui narrowed his eyes, his face marked with anger, bitterness, and confusion. "Who is that person…?" Syaoran looked back at the screen and quickly back at Akui, "She's my friend, Sakura…"

Akui looked at him again, "How is it that she possesses the Clow Cards…?" Syaoran started at Akui, wondering what could have made Akui so bewildered. "Uh…they were once called Clow Cards, but now, they belong to her. Those are now the Sakura Cards………Akui-Sensei, is something the matter…?" Akui looked at Syaoran, returning his face to the normal cold stare. "……..no…." Then Akui turned around and started walking away. Akui turned to look at Syaoran, "I expect you to be prepared for training in the next five minutes…"

"Yes, sensei…." Syaoran nodded. Syaoran and Meilin turned around to take out the tape, which was finished. Yet, Syaoran froze as he heard Akui mumble something to himself, and under his breathe speak with such anger, almost a growl, "Clow…Reed…" Syaoran slightly turned his head towards Akui, who picked up his rod and walk out of his room. Meilin scoffed, "Hmph… what's wrong with him again…?"

Syaoran knew from that moment, something was terribly wrong with this situation. How is it ever possible for Akui to know who Clow Reed was? It was evident that he held a great grudge or bitterness towards Clow, but that's not possible, unless he once associated with Clow Reed. Syaoran felt every bit unsure about continuing his training with Akui. Yet, three more years passed and here he finally was, back in Japan with Sakura. Syaoran stopped walking, as he already approached his home. Going into the apartment room, he was welcomed by his butler, Wei. Wei was quite surprised at Syaoran's messy attire, and asked whether everything was all right. Syaoran didn't want to spend so much with details that he returned a terse answer and quickly went to clean himself. Letting the faucet run with water, he let the sink fill up. As he was prepared to wash his face, he abruptly stopped and stared at his faint reflection.

_I feel like I forget who I am or why I am or …… I don't know… _

_…Who are you? _

Syaoran closed his eyes with frustration as he simply stood over the sink.

"Five years…and nothing has changed with you... for those five years, all I did was take a look at you and find no other than Clow Reed's shadow. Are you even capable of carrying the silly title and prestige of his name again… carving that path……for what……" Syaoran opened his eyes, and looked back at himself. He sighed and started to wash his face.

Meanwhile, Yukito was standing by himself inside the park, close by his home. Suddenly, a large figure appeared behind him, rising from the ground. The shadowy figure walked closer to him. Yukito turned around with a serious face. His face seemed to be different, not the same compassionate and gentle face as he usually present his close friends. The figure spoke with the same deep resonating voice, "Have you made your decision…?"

Yukito's face softened, as though he was feeling hesitant. "I…"

"If you do not make a decision quickly…I will have no power to help you…" Hearing this, Yukito looked up, surprised and shocked.

"What do you mean, you can't help me… I thought we had a deal here, Akuma…"

"Yes, you are correct... but one who knows every persons' coming and going has begun to change our plans…Soon, Yue and Cerberus will have their eyes opened. Their souls shall be made new and their hearts made whole. The truth about their existence will be revealed and they shall gain more power than now. And if that happened…"

Yukito bit his under lip, "If that happened… Yue will be set free, just as you have told me before, Akuma. I could feel myself disappearing… I am losing my identity again and again, I keep trying to fight back…but… it seems as though all my nightmares are coming to life…I…I can't let that happen…"

Akuma walked closer to Yukito, "So what do you say…" Akuma raised his ghastly and shadowy right hand, and offered it to Yukito, "Do you agree to give me what I asked for, then….?"

Yukito raised his eyes and peered into the darkness behind the large cape of Akuma . '_Sorry… Touya…Sakura…'_ He nodded, and a great darkness surrounded him as Akuma's figure seemed to dissipate like tattered clothing. As the tattered cape fluttered in the air, each one slowly twirled about and the moment the pieces reached the ground, its shape altered and became a shape of a black ravens, which shrieked loudly and flew into the sky above them.

_--------Preview of Next Chapter----------_

_The Sand covered the entire park, as a large portion of the streets looked as though it were a desert. _

_Sakura: "Sand! No! Return!" _

_Syaoran: "It's no use! It won't react to your commands…"_

_Touya, wiping the coffee table during his part-time job, bumps into a girl of pale complexion, with hazel eyes, and grayish hair--- almost similar to Yukito's physical features. "Excuse…uh…"_

_Syaoran looks up and sees Akuma hovering over him and Sakura…Adelah holds out her hand to Sakura, who returns her a confused look._

_Girl smiling at Touya: "Haven't we met before?" _

_Suddenly, a knock is heard on the wall of the classroom, as everyone's eyes gaze up. Sakura jumps up from her seat with a look of shock, finding at the door a young handsome pale boy. "It's been a while…everyone…"_

_"ERIOL-KUN!"_

_-----------------------------------------------------_


	7. Sandy Discoveries

Disclaimer: All aspects about **Card Captor Sakura**: Copyright © 1998 CLAMP / Kodansha / NHK / NEP21.

Foreword: Syaoran remembers his past and realizes his lack of strength. It is revealed that inside, he struggles to identify with his role to keep the family traditions and honor of Clow Reed. And we now know the name of the mysterious figure, Akuma. Just what kind of deal did Yukito make with him…?

Card Captor Sakura: A Change of Kingdom

Chapter 7: Sandy Discoveries

Sitting beside a quaint snug bed, Adelah held her head low with her eyes closed. As she leaned upon the soft blankets, she had her hands fast together. After a short moment, she looked up and gave a warm smile, as though she was reassured. Rising from where she sat, she got her school bag ready. The time read 7:00 A.M. Thus, she quickly went out of her bedroom. Upon reaching the outskirts of her school, Adelah noticed Sakura standing outside the gates. Adelah took a deep breath in and out. She calmly walked towards Sakura, who noticed her presence drawing closer. As their eyes met, Sakura didn't know how to regard her. Sakura just gave a look of void, while Adelah returned her a steadfast expression.

"Um…good morning, Adelah-chan…" Sakura gave her a hesitant greeting, but Adelah went straight to more important affairs. Adelah responded to her short greeting, "Today…you might want to be careful."

Sakura raised a puzzled glance towards her, as Adelah passed by her and walked towards their class. Adelah has always been a mystery to Sakura, if not a threat. Sakura couldn't describe the utter opposition her spirit felt towards Adelah. What Adelah said, Sakura heard well and was prepared for anything, if Adelah planned to reveal her true colors. Suddenly, the school bell rung, signaling students to quickly head to their classes. Sakura jumped, as she panicked. She has been waiting for Syaoran, but apparently he has not arrived to school yet. "Ah, wait! Oh no! Where is Syaoran-kun?"

"Sakura!" Sakura whirled around, seeing Syaoran run towards her. Sakura slightly yelped, as Syaoran quickly grabbed her hand. He rushed towards the gates, which closed behind them. They kept running through the hall and up the stairs, finally reaching the front of their classroom. Syaoran and Sakura stopped, as their panted for a moment. He took a look at his watch to make sure that they weren't tardy yet. Syaoran looked at Sakura, who was still a little jittery from the entire flight to flee tardiness. "I-I'm so sorry. I…" Syaoran took a huge breath in and out before continuing, "I slept in…"

Sakura felt her anxieties drop, as she giggled. "Hoe. Syaoran-kun, I didn't know you could sleep in. All those days training and disciplining must be wearing off."

"Hmm…Well, maybe." Syaoran scratched his head, as he looked away towards the classroom door. As he was right about to open the door, Sakura cleared her throat to grab his attention. He turned to face Sakura, who was slightly blushing and staring at his hand, which was still holding onto hers. He flushed and immediately let go, "Oh!"

For a short moment, there was a strange pause. Sakura smiled at him, as she cheerfully said, "Let's go in!" Syaoran smiled back at her and walked into the classroom. Meanwhile, Touya was set to go to his part-time job at a café shop near his college. Sitting in the front porch, he started tying his shoe laces. Right as he was about to head to school, he stopped and took out his cell phone. He stood for a while, holding the phone to his ear. Yet a familiar answering machine comes on. Touya sighed, as he found it strange how Yukito would not pick up his phone since yesterday night.

On the other hand, Sakura yawned, while Tomoyo giggled at her cuteness. Sakura turns and sighs, signaling to Tomoyo that the teacher was boring. Tomoyo smiles and nods in agreement. Tomoyo look beyond Sakura, to where Adelah was sitting. Adelah was yawning as well, weary from listening to the boring history lessons. Suddenly a loud clamor is heard, which makes Sakura and Tomoyo jump. As the teacher turned around, Syaoran was shaking himself awake, grabbing the book that fell unto the floor. Sakura realized Syaoran must have fallen asleep and knocked the book off his desk. Tomoyo looked a little worried for him, as did Sakura. Sakura thought about Syaoran's strange reaction, sleeping in and even sleeping in class. 'Perhaps, he couldn't sleep well last night.' Sakura thought to herself.

As the class drew to an end, the students happily started to pack away, getting ready to head towards home or another after-school program. Suddenly, a knock is heard on the wall of the classroom, as everyone'seyes gaze up. Sakura jumps up from her seat with a look of shock, finding at the door, a young pretty pale boy. Tomoyo shows a wide smile, while Syaoran held a surprised expression. Adelah, on the other hand, didn't look too thrilled.

"It's been a while…everyone…" The boy walked in, while students who didn't recognize or know the person headed off. Sakura, Syaoran, and Tomoyo happily walked up to him to greet their old friend. Sakura ran and gave him a bear hug, almost causing the boy's glasses to fly off. "Eriol-kun!"

"Whoa…Haha! It's good to see you, Sakura-chan." Eriol, the wise boy who held a look of much thought and composure, smiled at his friends. Tomoyo and Syaoran warmly returned him the smile. Tomoyo asked, "When did you come back from England?"

"I arrived last night, but I didn't want to tell anyone. I wanted it to be a surprise." Eriol fixed the position of his glasses, as he replied. Syaoran crossed his arms, as he slightly grunted, "Well, that does sound like you. Full of surprises…"

Eriol chuckled at Syaoran's reaction, "And you did not change much during the five years, Li-kun." Tomoyo decided they should meet up eventually to catch up on Eriol's life. Everyone agreed and slowly head outside the class. Sakura stops, however, seeing Adelah standing before her. Within their brief eye contact, Adelah held a strange look of worry, which puzzled Sakura. Tomoyo comes in between them and smiles, "Adelah-chan, this is Eriol-kun. Eriol-kun, Adelah-chan."

Yet Eriol and Adelah did not make any movement. Tomoyo, Sakura, and Syaoran stared at them in confusion. As though Eriol sensed something strange about Adelah, he seemed to be trying to read her. Adelah seemed to be doing the same. Their link breaks, as Eriol smirks and starts to hold his hand out, "Nice to meet you, Adelah."

"…Nice to meet you too." Adelah quickly shakes his hand and lets it go. Adelah turns towards Sakura, "…Try to stay away from the Park…"

"The park?" Yet before Sakura could ask any more questions, Adelah walks away from them. As Adelah walked outside the school and towards the gates, from the rooftop, the phantom-like being, Akuma, steadily floated in the air. As soon as Adelah was out of his sight, Akuma looked below, finding Syaoran, Tomoyo, Sakura, and Eriol walking away from the school. Akuma stared deeply at Eriol, who starts to head back home, while the others walk in their usual direction towards their homes. Eriol turned around and waved at them, "I will see you all tonight then at Daidouji-chan's place."

They all nodded and waved back towards their friend, who walked away. In the meantime, Touya was setting up the chairs outside the café where he worked. Wearing a stripped blue and white apron, over the café's usual working attire, he kept himself quite busy. The bell on the door is triggered as a young lady comes in. Touya was wiping the coffee table, when he accidentally bumped into the lady. She slightly backed off, while he stopped and turned to apologize. "Exc…uh…"

Touya was taken aback for she held much of Yukito's physical traits of pale complexion, hazel eyes, and grayish hair. She shyly bows and looks up at him. He continues to apologize, "Excuse me."

The lady tilts her head slightly, since Touya still holds his serious gaze upon her face. She asks, "Um…Why are you looking at me that way?"

Touya, noticing his rude behavior, looks away and continues to work. Without facing her, he replies, "I'm sorry, you just reminded me of someone." Right as Touya was about to leave to go clean the tables outside, she asks, "Wait, haven't we met before?"

Touya stops and stares back at her, as she earnestly looks at him. He thinks for a moment, since she does look somewhat familiar. As he holds his head in thought, she solemnly says, "I think we have the same literature class together. Do you remember?"

A silent moment passes them by. "Really? Actually, I think I remember you from somewhere else..."

"Oh?" The lady returned a perplexed look, while Touya recalled the time he saw her walk by him, as he was waiting for Yukito.

_He kept looking at his watch, wondering why his friend was not out of class yet or wondering what was taking his pale friend so long to meet him to eat lunch. Feeling a familiar presence, Touya turned around, believing it was Yukito. Unfortunately, it was just a girl with pale skin, who was simply walking past him. He looked closely at her, realizing that it was strange how it almost felt like Yukito._

"I don't think you saw me though." Touya puts the rag into the pocket of the apron, as he claps his hands to clear away some of the dust. She sweetly smiled and held out her hand, "I see. My name is Hinabi Miye. Nice to meet you,…um…?"

"Kinomoto Touya. Nice to meet you, Hinabi-sa term of respect ." They shake hands. Touya still held a look as cold as ice, but Miye didn't seem to be intimidated by his nonchalant expression. "Nice to meet you, Kinomoto-kun."

"Can I get you something?" She started to head towards the seat near the corner, "Just water would be fine, thank you." As Touya head back behind the counter, the door opens, revealing a taller lady than Miye. She had similar skin tone as Sakura, not too dark and not too faint. Her orange hair color glistened in the sun, and her proud blue eyes shimmered as though they reflected the sea itself. Wearing, quite frankly, nothing but a think blue tin top and short white skirt, she ran towards the counter, calling out, "Ohhh, Touyaaaa-kun!"

Touya turned around, seeing Lucia coming towards him. Keeping a detached indifferent look, he turned away and got a cup to get Miye some water. Lucia leaned over the counter, as she dreamily stared at Touya. Lucia has been in Touya's classes and have gotten to know him ever slightly and obviously fallen for his stern cold look. Touya never regarded her anything more than an acquaintance or friend, but sometimes her constant presence did make him tremble with repugnance. Yukito usually laughed at Touya's reaction towards her. Touya got the water, and headed towards Miye, who was already sitting with one of her own acquaintances. Seeing Touya approach them, she smiled, "Thanks, Kinomoto-kun."

Touya walked away, while Miye and her friend kept conversing. As Touya walked backed to the counter, Lucia eyed Miye suspiciously. In the meantime, Sakura turns to her friends and points her hand down the street next to them, "Um…Perhaps we should avoid the park and head that way."

"Yes, but I do wonder what made Adelah-chan say that." Tomoyo held her hand up, holding her chin in thought. Syaoran simply walked besides them without any words. Suddenly, Sakura stopped, feeling a strange sensation. Syaoran turns around to look at her. Sakura holds her heart, feeling an unexplainable tension arising. Syaoran approaches her, "Sakura, what's wrong?"

"I-I don't know…something- there's something here. I can feel my cards…reacting strangely…" Sakura holds her head, while Syaoran quickly holds her from falling. Tomoyo runs next to her, "Sakura-chan!"

A loud commotion was building up near the Central Park. Shouts and screams could be heard from afar, causing them to look up with wonder. Sakura holds onto Syaoran, who tries to keep her steady. He quickly said, "Hang in there, Sakura. We're heading back home."

"No…no…it's at the park. We have to go to the park…"

"But the park---" Yet before Syaoran could finish, Sakura runs off his arm and towards the Central Park. Tomoyo and Syaoran calls out her name, pursuing her. Sakura couldn't explain all she was feeling, as though by instinct she could feel the presence of one of the cards at the park. Perhaps her senses and magical talents have become keener. Finally reaching the park, Sakura falls to the ground. She holds her breath in shock, as her eyes grow wide. Before her presence was the Sand spirit, standing afloat in the middle of the park. The Sand covered the entire park, as a large portion of the streets looked as though it were a desert. Sakura slowly stands up, seeing the massive destructive powers displayed by the Sand spirit. The Sand spirit simply turns away from Sakura, going towards the parts of the park that are not covered with sand. Sakura holds out her hand, "Wait, no!"

As Sakura started running towards her beloved card, she suddenly feels her legs heavy. Looking beneath her, she realizes she begins to sink deeper into the sands. She struggles to free herself from the hellish pit, but to no avail. She screams in desperation, "Sand! Stop this!"

Sadly, her earnest call is ignored as a dune rises around her to bury her deep within the floor. Syaoran and Tomoyo searches around, as Tomoyo yanks Syaoran's shirt and points to where Sakura starts to sink. "Sakura-chan!"

The sandbanks start to crumble and fall upon Sakura in full force. Sakura screams, as she covers her face with her arms. "Sakura!"

From above them, Akuma ominously hovers and stares upon the scene, as though he was a ghastly sign of the events to come. Syaoran ran into the park, jumping on a tree so the Sand Spirit couldn't hold him down on the floor like the way it did with Sakura. Hoping from branch after branch, he frantically searched for Sakura, who was trapped beneath the sands, which dangerously stirred. The Sand started coming towards Syaoran, who immediately took out his talisman that transformed into the mystical sword. Syaoran dodges the incoming blasts of sand by jumping unto another tree branch. "Lightning Ignite!"

The Sand slipped into the sand before getting hit by the lightning spell. Syaoran grew impatient, as he knew Sakura could only last so long within the sand. Suddenly, the Sand slithered out of sand, shooting from the ground and directly hitting Syaoran's chest. "Ugh!"

Tomoyo gasped, watching Syaoran get hit. Syaoran fell off the tree, trying his hardest to grab unto any branches he could reach. Unfortunately, the Sand spirit at once flew back into the floor. Syaoran turned and saw the sandy abyss rising up to swallow him up as well. He shut his eyes, as he called out, "Wind Storms Arise!"

He used all the force he could conjure to stop the sands, yet his force was not strong enough. He raised his arms to cover his face, but a familiar voice caught his attention. "OY! BRAT, WATCH OUT!"

Before Syaoran was swallowed by the sandy monstrosity, Kero transformed into Cerberus Keroberus and caught Syaoran from falling. Tomoyo, waiting on the outskirts of the park sighed with relief. "Uh? Cerberus? How did you-?"

"I started sensing something wrong with the cards. Knowing Sakura would be here, I came as soon as I could." As Cerberus was flying away, Syaoran yanked the hair on the mystical creature. Cerberus got annoyed and growled at Syaoran. "Yeouch! NOW what's the matter with you?"

"There's no time! Go back, Sakura's down there!" Cerberus' eyes grew serious, as he flew towards the park. He growled when the Sand Spirit rose from the ground, flinging huge blasts of sands. Cerberus continued dodging them, while Syaoran tightly held on and looking about the floor. Syaoran's eyes grew wide when he barely noticed a hand above the surface, frantically reaching out. "THERE!"

Cerberus quickly plunged in, as Syaoran reached out his hand. Right as Cerberus was about to pass by, Syaoran firmly gripped Sakura's hand. With all his might he pulled while Cerberus slowed down. Sakura gasped for air, holding her staff in her hand. The Shield card held her in a bubble to prevent her from suffocating within the sands. Akuma watched with amusement, but with a snap of his shadowy fingers, the Shield card immediately returned to the card form. Sakura was safely set in front of Syaoran, as Cerberus immediately dodged another attack from Sand. Sakura leaned on Syaoran, who held her close, still holding her hand. She was breathing heavily, since she had some difficulty breathing beneath the sands. She held her staff firmly in her hand, tightening her grip. Cerberus turned around, facing the Sand which began to focus all its energy to send a dune tsunami towards them. Sakura screamed, "Sand! No! Return!"

"It's no use! It won't react to your commands…" Syaoran said. A sinister laughter was heard, following many eerie giggles, as though they were surrounded. Syaoran looked up, seeing Akuma hovering over him and Sakura. "That explains it…He's manipulating the cards again…"

"I don't understand—our power not enough to contain it." Sakura looks with utter disappointment, as the Sand looks up at Akuma. Akuma simply nods, as though he has given his stamp of approval upon her actions. With this, the Sand sent a loud screech, causing Cerberus to roar in pain, as he felt his entire body grow stiff. 'Where is that Yue when you need him? Doesn't he even know we're here!' Cerberus tries to reach Yue through his thoughts, 'Yue? Where are you?'

Tomoyo tightly shut her eyes and ears, while Sakura and Syaoran tried to do the same. Their entire body grew cold and rigid. Syaoran struggled to raise his gaze at Sand. He saw the sandy wave rising behind Sand in an unstoppable speed. Knowing it may be impossible to avoid, he tries to grab Cerberus' attention. "Oy! Get us out! C'MON!"

Suddenly a strange calm surrounded Tomoyo. Tomoyo raised her gaze, as she realized the sound has mysteriously stopped around her and only the usual street noises were heard. She got up from her fallen position, looking around. Suddenly Adelah passed by her and ran into the park. "…A-Adelah-chan?" Cerberus, who was paralyzed by the shriek, struggled to move. Syaoran held Sakura tightly, as she shut her eyes from fear of seeing their inevitable doom. 'PLEASE!' Oddly, the shriek stops. Cerberus pants, as he quickly backs away from the scene as soon as possible. Sakura opened her eyes and saw Adelah standing upon the ocean of sand, holding a staff. Adelah held the staff before her, standing firmly upon the sand, and inexplicably not sinking though it the sand was continually stirring beneath her feet. The wave rose and right before her. Sakura gasped, "ADELAH-CHAN!"

She slowly whispered, amidst the chaos, "…You, Lord…are my stronghold…" Adelah opened her eyes and stabbed the staff into the ground. The wave was right about to overtake her and everyone above her, but from where the sword hit the ground, a line was perfectly drawn before the tsunami. As though an invisible wall has towered from the line, Sakura and Syaoran saw a faint glow emitting from where the line was. The Tsunami crashed into the barrier, not passing the point where Adelah held down her staff. The force was so powerful, that Adelah slightly stepped back, her brown hair wavering about her face. Sakura and Syaoran's mouth opened in pure amazement. Though they saw the sand wave before their very eyes, not even a speck of sand has passed the point where Adelah stood. Tomoyo too saw the force of the sands dying out and slowly returning to the floor. Adelah took staff off the floor and turned towards the Sand spirit, which hissed at her. Sakura, Syaoran, and Cerberus landed, since the sand beneath them calmed down. Sakura watched on, noting Adelah's composure and fixed gaze upon the Sand spirit. Adelah raised her staff before her, as it discharged a strange yellow light. The staff was transformed into a sword, yet in much different way Sakura's staff transformed into a sword. The Sand spirit rushed towards Adelah, but Adelah simply stood her ground. When the Sand spirit was close enough, Adelah slashed it with the sword, as it split within the air and faded. It did not return to its card form, instead it sent off a strange red essence, which fluttered into the sky.

Sakura couldn't explain the strange sensation she felt the moment she saw Sand completely disappear. She felt as though a part of her has died, that somewhere in her soul, something has vanished. Before the feeling could completely sink inside Sakura's heart, Akuma lashed out towards Syaoran and Sakura, as they quickly ducked away together. Akuma was furious, specifically aiming towards Sakura. Though Cerberus came before him, Akuma simply passed through him like a breeze. Adelah became startled and rushed towards Sakura's side. Syaoran stood defensively in front of Sakura, seeing Akuma rush in full speed. She held out her hand to Sakura, who returns her a confused look. Adelah screamed, "Sakura! My hand! HURRY!"

Sakura reached out and securely grabbed it, though she did not know for what reason. "NOO!" Akuma screamed while he still flew towards them. Adelah narrowed her eyes towards Akuma. As she steadily held Sakura's hand with one hand, she raise her other hand towards Akuma. Sakura shut her eyes, being suddenly blinded by a bright ray of light before Adelah. She faintly saw another familiar figure standing in front of Adelah, but it vanished before she could clearly see anything else. Akuma screeched, and bolted up towards the sky and hovered far away from all of them. "You! You will pay dearly for what has happened today!"

With this Akuma has faded within the winds and the last of Sand's handiwork has vanished around them. The Central Park returned to its original form. Adelah released Sakura's hand and sighed. Sakura stood still, stunned and confused. Tomoyo and Cerberus, who returned to his miniature form, walked towards Sakura. "Sakura-chan, are you all right?"

Tomoyo's sweet voice brought Sakura back to reality, as she weakly nodded. "I…I think so."

"Adelah, just what exactly happened? Who-Who in the world are you?" Syaoran stared at Adelah, who was looking at the floor. Adelah didn't seem to know how to answer Syaoran's question. She turned towards everyone, who returned her the similar baffled stare. Without answering his question, she simply spoke, "I was told that the power of darkness would start to slowly reveal itself today at the park. That's why I tried to prevent you from coming. Still, I guess it was inevitable…"

"You…you had a sword or a staff…like mine." Sakura stood motionless next to Adelah, who looked deeply into Sakura's shocked eyes. "No…It's not like your staff. It wasn't a staff at all or a sword. It was my only means to fight the enemy…perhaps you couldn't feel it, but it was the manifestation of the Holy Spirit."

"Holy Spirit?" Syaoran and Sakura looked at one another, completely confused and oblivious of what she was saying. Kero scratched his head, finding the phrase quite catchy for some reason, as though he has heard of it before. Adelah calmly spoke, "There's too much to explain here. And…there may be another encounter tonight."

"What?" Sakura shook her head in disbelief, "You mean, that phantom will strike again!"

"Perhaps…but most likely, one of the Spirits will come. I am not sure of which one though," Adelah stopped and sighed, "I'm sorry. This may seem so sudden, but…I think I may have to stay over at your place, Sakura."

"M-My place…?" Sakura did not feel comfortable that Adelah had to suddenly stay over. Adelah, too, didn't seem too excited about sticking next to Sakura. Adelah crossed her arms, "Have you not noticed? You are being targeted here."

"Hoe?" Sakura pointed at herself, as Syaoran immediately got alarmed.

"What do you mean?" Syaoran exclaimed. Kero also piped in, "We have to know exactly what's going on!"

"Ah-no-neh…" Within the commotion, Tomoyo got all their attention, as she softly said, "We could always go to my place. It may be more convenient for Sakura to tell her brother that she's staying over at my place."

Tomoyo stopped for a moment and looked at Syaoran with a worried face, "Hmm…but Syaoran-kun, you may-"

"I'm coming too!" Syaoran looked quite determined, which made Tomoyo, Adelah, and even Sakura uneasy. Tomoyo was only afraid of Sakura's brother finding out about Syaoran's presence in their secret sleep over. Kero simply scuffed at his efforts, "Hah! You're a boy and a brat ! You're going to sleep over with three girls in one place! Are you crazy or something?"

"Look...if there's another battle tonight, I should be there too! Besides, this involves all of us now, including me. And don't call me, Brat! " Syaoran and Kero glared at one another, as Adelah simply sighed, shaking her head. "Then so be it. Tomoyo-chan, thank you very much."

"Anything for Sakura-chan's safety." Tomoyo smiled and looked at Sakura, who was not looking at any one of them. She simply held her head low to the floor in thought. She was still uncertain about all the events that turned about for them. She still couldn't trust Adelah, but the power that Adelah held was beyond her. She didn't know the source or what it was. Perhaps the events that will follow will be able to answer Sakura's many questions, as she continues to discover more about the Holy Spirit, Adelah, the cards' behavior, and the dark spirit. Each of them slowly began to walk towards Tomoyo's house to prepare for their next encounter.

_--------Preview of Next Chapter----------_

_At Tomoyo's house, in the upstairs balcony, Sakura looks up at the sky with Syaoran: "Hoe? Snow?" Sakura smiles, feeling the soft snow fall upon her face. Yet her smile fades when suddenly the sky thunders._

_Outside Tomoyo's house, in a garden, Adelah pushes Sakura and Syaoran away. She falls, getting hit by the blast of snow. "Adelah-chan!"_

_"So you think you're the only one able to handle this dilemma!" Eriol harshly speaks to Adelah, who angrily stares back at him. He walks closer, taking out his mystical staff. "Do you take me as a fool!"_

_Cerberus pants, as he struggles to fight through the snowy storm. "Yue… just where are you!"_

_(In a strange dark blue environment)_

_Large ghostly beings, dressed in tattered black capes and hoods, drew closer to Yue, who was struggling to stand on his feet. Hearing Cerberus' voice calling out to him, Yue tightened his hand into a fist. "Damn it…Let me leave!"_

_Sakura stands before the Snow Spirit, blocking the path between Adelah and the spirit. "Please…don't…"_

_-----------------------------------------------------_


	8. Blue Hue Storms

Disclaimer: All aspects about **Card Captor Sakura**: Copyright © 1998 CLAMP / Kodansha / NHK / NEP21.

Foreword: Touya can't reach Yukito but he meets someone who looks startling similar to him, Hinabi Miye. Everyone is overjoyed that Eriol has finally come back from England, but Akuma begins to control Sakura's cards again, while Sakura and Syaoran are powerless to stop its destructive power. Adelah reveals a power greater than that which Akuma uses. What could it be? And could she truly be on Sakura's side?

Card Captor Sakura: A Change of Kingdom

Chapter 8: Blue Hue Storms

Tomoyo spread the curtains in the living room upstairs. Syaoran and Adelah sat comfortably in the large couch situated in the spacious room. Sakura opens the door, walking into the living room. She sighs, as she sits in front of Syaoran on the couch opposite of the coffee table. Tomoyo began to ponder what to serve her guests while Kero lied on his back on the table, feeling a little weary from the previous fight. Kero thought for a long moment, wondering exactly where Yue could be. Even his presence couldn't be felt through Kero's keen senses. He's been trying to contact him for so long, yet he seemed to have mysteriously disappeared. Finally, Tomoyo returned from the kitchen with a large tray, holding cups of juice and a plate of fruits.

"Tehe. Help yourselves." Tomoyo sat next to Sakura, setting the tray down. Kero fluttered out of her way. While everyone seemed pretty impressed with all the food Tomoyo offered them, Kero happily reached out, grabbing the largest apple. "WEE! MINE! MINE!"

"Hmph…pig…" Syaoran lightly commented on Kero's desire to always eat the largest portion in the entire plate and shook his head, realizing some traits just don't change in certain people. Kero glared at him, yapping, "Hey! That's no way you should be talking to your savior! Don't forget—I saved you in the last battle! If I wasn't there, you would be---."

Before Syaoran could retaliate, he looked at Sakura for a moment. Not wanting to make Sakura feel distressed, Syaoran sighed and looked away. "Ach, Kero-chan!" Sakura quickly grabbed him, setting him on her lap. "Shh! Just eat your apple."

Kero slightly grumbled and raised one eyebrow at her, "I noticed…You're always on his side…" Sakura gave him a look that could kill, which quickly shut Kero up. Kero simply grinned and started biting into his apple. Sakura gave a nervous giggle, "Ehehe…sorry…"

Syaoran asked, "So…What did you tell your brother?"

"Oh, I simply said that Tomoyo-chan and I had a school project. He didn't seem to mind me staying over at her place. After all, I stayed over many times already. Neh, Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura smiled at Tomoyo, who returned her smile with an angelic giggle. Adelah raised her glance towards them, as she spoke, "It's not necessary to hide the truth. He will find out sooner or later about you and the cards. Perhaps, you should trust your brother more."

An awkward silence filled the air. Kero nearly choked on his apple from the oddity of the mood. Adelah simply giggled at the way they seemed to react. "Then again, it's not my place to tell you that."

"Adelah, tell us about the Holy Spirit. Just exactly, what kind of magic was it?" Syaoran asked. Sakura was also eager to know the truth about Adelah's powers. Kero, too, stopped his loud grubbing and set the apple down, staring back at Adelah to attentively listen. Adelah slowly began, "The Holy Spirit is no magic. As you already know, there is many ways of seeing this world. Our world is both physical and spiritual. Most, if not all, can sense the physical domain. Only a few can truly understand the spiritual realm. Have you ever wondered how this world began?"

Tomoyo, Sakura, and Syaoran looked at one another, obviously unsure of what she meant by the question. Adelah continued, "I believe in a creator, a God, who began life on this planet thousands of years ago. Though he created everything, mankind and living creatures, there was among his angelic beings, an angel that chose to defy God and his principles of truth. The angel was banished along with its followers that wanted to oppose all of God's creations. This angel's name was Lucifer, or better known as Satan."

"…Hoe? This…" Sakura thought for a moment, all that she's been hearing. Yet Adelah continued, "Being banished into this world, he despised all that which God has created. In his anger and hatred, he prevented the people from following God. Though countless times, God would reveal himself to the people he created, people walked away from his principles and laws. Attaining righteousness and the purity that was necessary to approach God was an impossibility with mankind. God was a God that hated sin and corruption. Yet the very people he created and loved was tainted with sin and only showed corruption in their ways. God knew that Satan would take the souls of mankind down into hell, a place of eternal torment and punishment. Thus, God from the beginning, planned for mankind's salvation.

"He sent his son into Earth, born to be exactly as man and tested in every way so that mankind would be able to find a way back to God through him. His name was Jesus, and he was called the Christ, the savior of the world. Jesus Christ came and bore every man's sins. Though he never sinned in his life and even the government could not find any wrong in him, he became sin in their place, and was hung on a wooden cross, punished in a process called crucifixion. Though he has died and sent into hell for man's sins, God has rose him from the dead, taking him out of hell and placing him in the highest place in Heaven. He is the light of the world, the bread of life. He said that those who believe in his name will receive eternal life and salvation, a chance to know God. 'For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NIV)'

"And before Jesus ascended back into heaven, he has promised every believer that he would send his Holy Spirit, the Counselor that was the power and presence of our God. The Holy Spirit's power is what you saw yesterday. It was not my power, but the power of God himself—"

"Wait! Isn't this a religion?" Sakura bolted from her seat.

"…Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo frankly looked perplexed at Sakura's behavior. Sakura looked away from everyone, as she softly spoke, "I-I've already heard about this before…I just…can't believe that you're telling me your source of power was from this-this story…"

"Oh yes, you've already heard about Jesus two times. This would be your third time, no?" Adelah calmly inquired. Sakura turned around, shocked. She could not understand how Adelah could possibly know the exact number of times she's already heard this gospel message. Adelah reached for a cup and drank some juice, ignoring Sakura's reaction. Kero stared up at her, scratching his head in thought. Sakura stood still, as the silence returned to the room. Syaoran held an indifferent look upon his face and got up from his seat. He walked outside into the balcony, closing the door to not let the cold air come in. It seemed that no one was able to truly swallow the entire story that Adelah shared with them. Tomoyo sat still. Sakura walked out into the balcony, to join Syaoran.

"Um…Adelah-chan?" Adelah stopped and looked at Tomoyo. "I guess it's safe to assume then…that you believe in God's son, Jesus Christ?"

Adelah slightly smiled and nodded. Tomoyo continued, "You also see the things that Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun could see. Can you describe to me, exactly what is attacking Sakura-chan?"

Adelah understood where Tomoyo's worries came from. Tomoyo, unlike Sakura and Syaoran, was not perceptive to the spiritual realm and thus couldn't feel or see the presence of the phantom. "It is a dark spirit, or commonly known as a demon. It's the servant of Satan, having one mind and intent on destroying people. It may even have a name…"

"But why is it attacking Sakura? What did Sakura do?" Kero asked in between their conversation. Adelah stopped and held her head low. Her expressions became down and concerned. She didn't know how to explain the situation to them, and she doubted they may even understand what she wanted to say. As the silence delayed the answer to the questions, in the meantime, Sakura quietly stood behind Syaoran. He held his gaze fixed upon the sky, standing still in thought. He put his hands in the pockets of his school uniform. Sakura walked next to him, "Syaoran-kun?"

Syaoran turned around, "Sakura..."

"You've been out here for a while and you haven't said anything. Is everything all right?"

"I've been just thinking about what Adelah told us—about the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, and God. I've been wondering how it could all be connected with that phantom and your cards…"

"Do you…believe what she said?" Sakura seemed a little uneasy, wondering if Syaoran could actually be accepting all that he's heard.

"I don't know. There are some links that don't seem to connect, too many questions that rises up and holes that remain empty. I did actually hear about this before…"

"You have?"

Syaoran looked at her again, "Yea. It was when I was much younger though." The crescent moon began to hide behind the thick clouds that gathered about in the sky. As they both turned towards the sky, Sakura did not want to think about all that Adelah has said. She wanted to take this time to clear her mind, clear her thoughts. She looked at Syaoran, who seemed to be deeply lost in his thoughts as well. The others were quiet in the living room. Kero couldn't wait for Adelah's answer to his question, thus he gave her another question, "What happened with the Sand spirit? It did not return to its card form like it should when it is defeated…"

"It isn't able to return to its card form. It was sealed away, so that it could no longer affect the physical world." Tomoyo and Kero's eyes grew wide in shock, wondering if they heard her right. Kero flew towards her, "Wait…You can't mean…You don't mean?"

"…It's gone. It won't be coming back." Another dismal silence occupied the space among them. Tomoyo looked disappointed, while Kero looked utterly traumatized. "How could you do that? Don't you know what those cards mean to all of us—what they mean to Sakura!" Adelah looked down at her hands, understanding what Kero was trying to say. Kero lifelessly landed on the chair. Adelah took a deep breath in and out.

Sakura turned and looked at Syaoran. Sakura became somewhat uncomfortable with Syaoran's silence. "Syaoran-kun…?"

"Hmm?" He did not turn and look at her, so Sakura cleared her throat, feeling a little nervous about expressing her feelings. "…um…Thank you…"

He turned to face her, "Thank you? For what?" He seemed somewhat puzzled by Sakura's gratitude. Sakura flustered and blushed. "Oh…well, you know. It's silly, really...You held my hand when I reached out to you and you lifted me from the sands." Syaoran and Sakura looked at one another. He gave her a warm grin, as Sakura smiled back. Syaoran scratched his head with embarrassment, "Well, I should have thanked Cerberus too. He did save my life. If you think that way though, we should all be thankful that Adelah came by…"

"Oh…I-I guess so…" Syaoran looked towards the sky again, as the grin seemed pressed upon his face. He felt his heart get giddy when Sakura thanked him in such a way, as though he received a gift. Sakura looks up at the sky with Syaoran. Though she was thankful that Adelah helped them, Sakura remembered the strange emptiness she felt when Adelah sliced through the Sand spirit. As though she returned to the exact moment, she remembered every emotion that ran through her body, emotions of pain and hurt. She didn't know, however, that Sand will never return to her deck of cards. Her thoughts were interrupted when she narrowed her eyes, seeing faint white spots appear within the sky. Syaoran also seemed perplexed, as he noticed snow started to fall around them.

"Hoe? Snow?" Sakura smiled and was amused when she felt the soft snow fall upon her face. Yet her smile faded when suddenly the sky thundered. They both turned towards the horizon, seeing from a distance the lightning beginning to strike in various places. Syaoran looked with wonder, "What in the…?"

Suddenly the lightning struck closer towards Tomoyo's home. It drew closer and closer, with the large clouds gathering above them. The thunder was pounding all around them. Tomoyo gasped, holding her ears from the noise, as Kero flew towards the window to see what was happening. Adelah got up and rushed downstairs. As the lightning was about to hit them, Syaoran grabbed Sakura, "Watch out!"

He jumped off, holding Sakura. The lightning hit the balcony, causing the house to rumble. Kero and Tomoyo immediately followed after Adelah. Landing safely on the floor, Syaoran let go of Sakura. They both looked up and saw the Storm spirit staring at them. Sakura reached for her key while Syaoran thrust out his talisman. Adelah forced the doors open, running towards the garden. Right as she entered, she saw Sakura and Syaoran's back to her, their eyes fixed on the Storm spirit. Another spirit drew closer to Sakura and Syaoran without them knowing. Adelah ran and pushed Sakura and Syaoran away from the incoming attack towards their back. She screamed and fell, holding her arm as she got hit by the blast of snow. Sakura and Syaoran whirled around, as they called out to her. "Adelah-chan!"

Sakura gasped for she realized the Snow spirit has been working along side with the Storm spirit. Sakura rushed over to Adelah's side, taking her key out. "Release!" The mystical staff has appeared before her, as she reached for her pocket to find her cards. The talisman, in Syaoran's hand, also changed into the magical sword. Adelah got up on her feet, right as the Snow Spirit rushed towards them. Sakura and Adelah dodged away. Kero rushed by their side, brightly glowing and returning to his full form of Cerberus. He swung around the blasts that Snow kept thrusting at them and blast it with the powers of the sun. The beautiful form of the Snow spirit twisted around to avoid the fiery blow. The Storm spirit came behind Kero and covered him within the clouds. Syaoran took out his flame scrolls, "Flames Hurl Asunder!"

Storm spirit didn't dodge, as it blocked the attack, by gathering up within the moisture and let it die down slowly. Cerberus couldn't see anything in the clouds, as the Snow spirit blasted him with thick snow. From within the sky, Syaoran heard a loud roar. "Cerberus!" Syaoran tried to get the clouds out of his way, by conjuring up some wind. Yet the force was nothing compared to the winds that Storm called forth. Seeing her friends in danger, Sakura thrust out her cards, but as she was right about to call upon them, Adelah abruptly grabbed her hand. "No-Wait!"

Yet it was too late for Sakura's Thunder card wildly flashed, and the Thunder spirit flew out, standing next to the Snow spirit and Storm spirit. The lion like spirit roared and flashed a lightning at Syaoran. Syaoran was able to dodge it quickly. Adelah sternly looked at Sakura, "With any chance they get, they will use the spirits of the cards against you!"

"But—then, how can I--?" Before Sakura could finish, Syaoran screamed in pain, causing both of them to turn to him. The Storm, Snow and Thunder combined their powers, causing a massive snow storm to cover them. Syaoran and Cerberus fell upon the floor, injured and powerless against their opponents. Cerberus pants, as he struggles to fight through the snowy storm. "Yue… just where are you!"

Though Cerberus called unto his partner, he was unaware of what was happening with Yue. Back within the depths of Yukito's soul, Yue was awakened by Cerberus' loud cry for help. Yue slowly opened his eyes, as he groaned. He was lying flat on his back. His body felt listless, as though he hasn't moved in ages. An enormous headache poisoned Yue's ability to think clearly. Slowly getting up from where he laid, he looked around him. Strangely the environment he remembered was no more. Instead, the blue hue was covered with darkness, as though he was standing in space with nothing around him. Yue shivered for the first time. He has never felt this cold before, yet he began to understand the strange sensation of the muscles pushing their limit to keep his body stable. The numbness began to overtake Yue, as he felt the entire place spinning beneath him. He felt sick, and utterly unable to move. Yet the pounding voice continued to call out, "Yue!"

Yue raised his head. He snapped his mind back into reality, as he realized he had no time to think about recuperating. He needed to help his mistress before anything else happened. As he began to concentrate to use Yukito's body and leave the temporary confinement, suddenly a large howling was heard around him. Yue, alarmed, turned about to search for the stranger. Yet, more strange snickers whistled in the background. "Who's out there! Show yourselves!"

And it was when he saw the familiar phantom that he began to comprehend what was going on. As in the days past, the body, which he was contained in, began to act strangely. Yue always felt as though something or someone was repressing his ability to reach the physical world. The phantom chuckled, as Yue raised his glance to his sides. Large ghostly beings, dressed in the similar tattered black capes and hoods, rose from the shadows and stood next to Yue. Yue, though he felt his body weak, knew he had to fight his way through. Waiting for their first move, Yue patiently gathered his energy. They began to float around him, as from their fingers, arrows of fire darted out. Yue dodged them and shot his own arrows. They disappeared within the air and reappeared, dodging his attack. Yue spread his wings to fly after them, yet he stopped feeling his leg heavy. Looking down, he was surprised to find ghastly hands from the depths wrapped around his legs. More strange shadowy hands rose and began to hold him down. He gritted his teeth, as flaming arrows suddenly shot from behind. Yue brought a shield before him, which blocked the arrows, and hindered more shadowy fingers to grab him. Finally, he gathered in his hand an energy that was shaped into a blade in his hand. He sliced the shadows underneath and finally flung away from the rest of the dark blasts. Hearing Cerberus' voice calling out to him, Yue tightened his hand into a fist, determined to leave. He flew towards the phantoms, slicing them away with the power of the moon in his hands. Barely making a portal for him to pass through, Yue started to dive in, yet the phantom stood in front of him to impede his escape. From above Yue, five phantoms grabbed a hold of him. He struggled with them in the air, yet their bodies seem to stretch and turn, wrapping around him. Their fabrics entangled his body, the way he remembered from his last struggle to leave. He screamed as he fell on the floor, trying to get free from their grasp. He looked up, finding the phantom closing the portal he created. The light vanished and all grew dark around him. Yet he could still feel their presence closing in on him.

They drew closer to Yue, who was struggling to stand on his feet. They began to mumble strange words, chanting and cursing a spell around Yue. A strange ray of red light encircled Yue, adorned with intricate symbols. It was a seal that prevented Yue from leaving. Yue pushed, sliced with his blade, blasted with the powers of the moon, and yet nothing happened. The dark figures simply stood around him, guarding him. Yue pounded his fist upon the barrier around him, "Damn it…Let me leave!"

His voice echoed, but no one was able to hear his desperate cry. Cerberus gave up calling, as he began to lose his conscience in the snow as the rest of them. Adelah struggled to her feet. She panted, feeling the chill immobilize her body. Slowly, she closed her eyes. Sakura raised her gaze, examining her movement. Before them, the staff reappeared in Adelah's hand. Adelah gripped it, though she winced from feeling the icy weather bring pain to her movement. Snow, Storm, and Thunder became threatened, since she tried to withstand the harsh weather. Thunder roared, as a crackle of thunder summoned a lightning blast to come onto Adelah. Seeing this, Syaoran rushed in front of her and got hit. Sakura opened her mouth in a silent scream when she saw Syaoran get on one knee, holding his chest. Syaoran tried to get back up, but he fell back down. Adelah walked toward Syaoran and touched his back, her eyes still closed, deep in her concentration. Syaoran was stirred when he felt Adelah's touch. A strange warmness began to take over his body, and then the pain began to slowly disappear. When the wound was healed, Adelah walked in front of Syaoran protectively. Syaoran backed up from where Adelah stood, suddenly feeling an enormous heat encircle her. Their view was blurred because of the clash of heat and cold within the steam. The snow underneath her feet began to melt, and the grass covered by the snow began to dry and burn away. Sakura walked beside Syaoran who was able to get back up. Snow and Storm tried to drive her concentration away, as they hurled more snow around her. Yet it only evaporated when it drew two feet from where Adelah stood. With a blink of an eye, a large flash covered the entire space. Sakura and Syaoran covered their faces, as they stood in front of Cerberus. Upon the barren earth, two bright beings stood defensively in front of Adelah, shielding her from the storm. Adelah held her eyes shut and her head down to avoid the bright light, as she defensively standing behind the two figures. Sakura and Syaoran were barely able to raise their gaze. One of the bright beings drew out a large bow that shimmered like gold. It shot an arrow through the Thunder spirit, which howled as it faded in a dark red light. The other took out a large sword, as it rushed in and sliced through the Storm spirit. As the Storm spirit faded away, the Snow looked horrified upon the scene. It began to cower away from the light and whimper. Adelah sighed with relief, feeling their presence dying away. Finally the bright angelic beings faded, as their presence seemed to melt the entire snow in the area. After they disappeared, Cerberus, Syaoran, and Sakura felt their strength return. Adelah opened her eyes, realizing the brightness from their presence would not blind her anymore. She sternly turned towards Snow and walked closer to the spirit, with her staff turning into a bright light in her hand. She raised her hand, to send a final blast that will seal away the spirit. Sakura looked on, feeling uncertain of what to do. She glanced at the Snow spirit, which in turned looked back at her. Its eyes burned with pleading towards Sakura, her mistress. Sakura immediately left Syaoran and Cerberus' side and ran in front of Adelah. She stood before the Snow Spirit, blocking the path between Adelah and the spirit. "Please…don't…"

Adelah was not moved by Sakura's plea, as she solemnly spoke, "Step aside, Sakura."

"I-I can't! There must be another way…it hurts me too much to see this…"

"Then don't watch me!" Adelah stepped forward, her resolve unchanging. Sakura, however, did not move. She stared back at Adelah with the same determination. Adelah's eyes slowly softened. Suddenly, the Snow spirit began to flash in red hues. Sakura turned back and Adelah knew her chance to seal it was fleeting. She blasted the Snow spirit, yet it was too late for the spirit returned to its card form. Adelah ran to grab it and destroy it, yet Sakura grabbed her from getting it. "NO!"

"Sakura! You!" They stopped their wrangle, however, when they saw someone from the corner of their eyes pick the card up. They turned and saw Eriol, holding the card and staring at them in confusion. Eriol gave the card back to Sakura. Sakura held it and drew it close to her heart. She sighed with relief, as Adelah scoffed at her reaction. "The fools! Can't you see they're manipulating you?"

"I watched only partially what has happened...did another battle for the ownership of the cards begin or something? What's going on?" Eriol continued to stare at them with a blank. They did not answer him, for they knew they needed to explain from the beginning for him to barely understand the situation. Adelah angrily glared at Sakura, who also gave her an unpleasant look. Sakura turned away and walked towards Syaoran, who seemed concerned with their distant relationship only growing worse. Adelah raised her tone, "You can protect them all you want…but if you do so, you will die by their hands!"

"Um…please, let us go inside," Tomoyo and Syaoran were obviously uneasy with the tension between the two girls. Eriol turned towards Adelah, as he walked up to her, "There's no need to raise your voice that way." Eriol tried to defend Sakura, who already went inside the house. Cerberus who turned back into his miniature form, followed after Sakura, looking a bit worried. Sakura held an angry expression, one that Kero was not used to. Eriol followed after Sakura, as did Tomoyo. Adelah quietly stood outside, while Syaoran stared at her. Though he didn't know her that well, for some reason he felt as though he could trust Adelah. He saw the painful expression upon her face, which reminded him much of the way his older sisters looked at him when he was in trouble. Adelah looked up him, noticing his eyes upon her. Syaoran turned away and began to walk back towards the entrance. "Li-kun…"

He stopped and turned back. Adelah walked past him, and effortlessly said, "…Thank you for helping me…" Adelah kept walking, but she stopped when Syaoran replied, "You've helped us first. If anything, we should be thanking you…"

A strange silence was in the air. She sighed and weakly grinned with amusement at his character, "...There's no need. It wasn't me that saved you. It was God, who led me here and God, who told me to stand by her side. I'm only doing what I'm told."

"No, there's more to it than that." Syaoran shook his head. Adelah turned back at him, as he continued, "I saw you hold back on the attack, even if it was just for a second. You're not used to hurting people…are you?"

Adelah lightly chuckled, "On the contrary, I did it too many times. I'm simply trying to not add to that number." Adelah looked away from him for a moment, as she softly spoke, "Li-kun…thanks…"

Syaoran watched Adelah walk away to the entrance. He smiled, knowing now that Adelah was more than just a pretty face. He realized there was an unparallel strength that she was withholding. He has yet to see the fullness of the power of the Holy Spirit, which Adelah faintly revealed through her actions. Syaoran entered the house a few minutes after Adelah entered. Though a new bond was being forged between Syaoran and Adelah, obviously the tension did not subside among the rest. Eriol was told the entire situation by Tomoyo and Kero and he didn't seem happy about Adelah's strength and story of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Sakura simply remained silent and did not talk throughout the entire time. She did not look at anyone. Syaoran started walking towards her, hoping to comfort her. Yet he stopped when he heard an argument beginning to rise.

"So you think you're the only one able to handle this dilemma!" Eriol harshly speaks to Adelah, who indifferently stares back at him. She crossed her arms, as she confidently spoke, "Excuse me, but I don't see _you_ stopping the cards and their powers," Adelah raised a glance towards Sakura, "…or even trying for that matter …"

He walked closer, taking out his mystical staff. "Do you take me as a fool!" Kero gasped, "Oy Oy! Eriol, calm down!"

"Yes, i-it's unlike you." Tomoyo held his staff, hoping he wouldn't do anything rash. Eriol settled down, as he sighed deeply. Perhaps the five years has changed his character, but it seemed he was affected by Sakura's sudden drop in spirit. She seemed to have altered her usual cheerful face through this situation, as though she saw a whole new perspective on her role as a mistress of the cards. He turned back at Adelah, "I don't want anything happening to Sakura. We all only want the best for one another. There must be another way for us to gain control over the cards…"

Everyone gathered around Sakura. They tried to reassure her that all would be all right, talking to her and comforting her. Adelah remained silent, feeling discouraged. She thought to herself, 'I guess…no one will understand…' She sighed and turned around to leave the house. She took one final look at Sakura, who was still motionlessly holding unto all her cards. Adelah felt her heart grow angry at Sakura for her helplessness yet deep inside, she didn't know who to blame but herself. Adelah was about to look away, but she once again saw Syaoran looking at her. Their eyes met and locked. His eyes seemed to tell her that he did want to understand what she was trying to tell them. His brown eyes looked earnestly into hers, as though he hoped she wasn't hurt or bitter. It comforted her for the moment. She dimly grinned and motioned for him to stand by Sakura and to be strong for her. A small curl was formed on the end of his lips and he walked back to Sakura's side. As Adelah left, Tomoyo watched both of them. She saw the strange chemistry between them and she wasn't sure of how to judge the entire scene. Sakura, on the other hand, held onto her cards harder. With the day finally ending, another mystery about the cards has yet to be solved.

_--------Preview of Next Chapter----------_

_Touya scratches his head, as he walks to his class. Seeing his best friend finally appear around the corner, Touya yells, "Oy! Yuki!"_

_The rain poured down harder as the day prolonged. Everyone huddled close to the school building, getting their umbrellas._

_Sakura and Syaoran, hearing the rain fall upon the roof above them, silently stood near the school. Sakura turns towards him, "What did you want to talk about?" _

_Syaoran says to Sakura, "It's…about Adelah…" Sakura looks at him in a hurt way._

_As the lightning struck, lighting the dark halls with a brief flash, Eriol sat in his majestic chair in his newly built mansion. From the shadows, Akuma slowly walked towards him. Eriol stirs and eyes him with surprise, "My, so you did come, just as I suspected…" Akuma walked closer and chuckled, "And just as I expected, you called unto me…"_

_Tomoyo runs through the rain, panting and feeling faint. She knocks heavily upon someone's door, "Please, please…open!" Adelah opens the door, shocked to find Tomoyo drenching wet. Tomoyo grabs her, "Adelah-chan! Please, you must help Sakura-chan!"_

_-----------------------------------------------------_

To Reviewers/ Readers: Thank you for reviewing. Hope you will continue to anticipate for the next chapter. Suggestions about my writing is always appreciated. I just hope I can improve as time goes on! God bless you! Jesus Loves You!


	9. Raining Tears

Disclaimer: All aspects about **Card Captor Sakura**: Copyright © 1998 CLAMP / Kodansha / NHK / NEP21.

Foreword: Adelah reveals the truth about herself and about the powers that she holds. She tells everyone that her power and strength comes from Jesus Christ, who granted her and other believers the Holy Spirit. Everyone has a hard time accepting all she said, and it only gets worse when Eriol hears about it. Who's truly trustworthy, and what's happening between Syaoran and Adelah?

Card Captor Sakura: A Change of Kingdom

Chapter 9: Raining Tears

Hearing the pitter patter of the rain against her window, Tomoyo wakes up. She turns to the clock, seeing that it is already time to get ready for school. She drew closer to the window, opening the curtains. It seemed to have been raining ever since last night's incident. Getting her clothes on, and running downstairs to eat her breakfast, Tomoyo thought for a moment. She walked away from the dining table and went into her mother's room. Sitting next to a large drawer, Tomoyo opened the bottom shelf. Inside were many old pictures, photo albums and books. There were many pictures of her grandfather, and even childhood pictures of Sakura's mother and her mother, since they were close cousins. From amidst the photos of the past, she saw an old rusty book cramped up in the corner of the shelf. She reached in and took it out, struggling to see through all the dust. She sneezed for a moment, as all the dust embossed the air around her. She waved her hand to clear it away, and finally took a glance at the book she took out. She was surprised for it was a King James Version Bible, seeming to be many years old.

"I knew it." Tomoyo opened the book, feeling some of the edges of the pages crumbling as she turned them. "I never thought I would find it again…" Tomoyo took the book with her, holding it in her arms. She ran upstairs, and opened a drawer that was under her bed. She put it safely inside the drawer and grabbed her umbrella to leave for school. The rain drizzled against the earth, as students ran to school. Among one of them, Touya held a black umbrella, walking calmly to his class. He scratched his head, thinking about Yukito and wondering where he could be. It was unusual for him to not even give a call back or any word to him that he was leaving somewhere. It made Touya worried and fearful if anything happened to him. As he walked down the hall, he stopped, seeing his best friend finally appear around the corner. Touya smiled in surprise and joy, "Oy! Yuki!"

Yukito turns around and looks at Touya, who ran towards him. Touya stopped and looked at him closely, seeing a bizarre change in Yukito's appearance. First of all, Yukito was not wearing his glasses. His usual calm expression was now strangely elevated. His serenity was unable to be found on his face, instead he seemed more alert. Seeing that Touya looked confused, Yukito smirked. "Hi, Touya. Something on my face?"

"Oh no…uh…just that you look a little different." Touya was confused at the change in Yukito's tone of voice as well. He seemed to hold more confidence. Touya just thought that he may have wanted to have a change of appearance ever since he got to college. After all, almost everyone wants to change once they go to college. "So…got contacts?"

"No. Eyes just got better. I don't think I'll be needing glasses anymore."

"Oh…" Touya seemed a little concerned, but Yukito laughed at his reaction. Touya raised a confused glance at him, "Wha-What's so funny?"

"Hahhaa, the way you're reacting. I must look really different, huh? You're not thinking that I changed completely now, do you, Touya?"

Touya smiled, seeing his old friend return. "Well, you did scare me for a moment. And besides, you didn't call back. I got worried, you know."

"…Touya…thanks." Yukito seemed genuinely moved by Touya's words, as Touya walked by him. "Let's go to class. You've been ditching. Who am I gonna get notes from now that you've missed some lectures?"

Yukito laughed, "I think you're a little too dependant on me." As they both laughed, Yukito stopped and asked, "Have any plans tonight?"

Touya thought, "I only have the job at Ladrinne Auditorium to go to. Why?" Yukito looked somewhat elated, "Mind if I go with you?"

"Not at all." Touya looked at his watch, seeing that it was almost time for lecture, and Yukito noticed as well. "I guess I'll see you there tonight then. See you later, Touya!" Yukito turned and left for his class session. For some reason, he seemed strangely happy about the short event. Touya still felt uncomfortable about Yukito's sudden change. He felt guilty that he wasn't just as happy for his friend. He simply shook away the strange feeling, thinking, 'I'm just not used to it…'

In the meantime, it was lunch time for Sakura and her classmates. Since it was raining, students ate in the halls, the classrooms, the stairway, and the cafeteria. Sakura sat with her lunch box in the cafeteria. Syaoran sat in front of her, getting his lunch out. And Eriol sat in front of Tomoyo, who was sitting by Sakura. As they began to eat their food, Adelah just entered the cafeteria. Tomoyo raised her glance as she looked at Sakura, "Sakura-chan, Adelah-chan is here too."

Sakura looked up, seeing Adelah walk around the counter. She turned away, and continued eating. Eriol simply commented, "Does it matter where she is?" Syaoran and Tomoyo seemed uneasy about their reaction, yet Tomoyo nudged Sakura a little, "Let us ask her to sit with us…"

"And why do we need to do that? We have no reason to trust her." Eriol looked annoyed towards Tomoyo, who seemed saddened that her request was defeated so quickly without consideration. Yet Syaoran spoke up, "She helped us yesterday. I think we should get to know her better before assuming things…"

Eriol, Tomoyo, and Sakura all turned to him with a surprised expression. Sakura, especially, was troubled by Syaoran's words. He turned to look at her, wondering how she will respond. She simply nodded her head. Tomoyo was relieved, but slightly taken aback when she saw Syaoran get up to call out to Adelah. Sakura eyed them with a little suspicious. Yet she shook her head, telling herself to stop getting too paranoid. He waved towards her, as Adelah noticed him. "Hey, sit with us."

Adelah deeply sighed and calmly walked towards them. She seemed a little tense. Tomoyo moved aside, letting her have some space to sit by them. Adelah gave them a quick smile but turned to her food. Adelah closed her eyes for a moment and was momentarily being still. When she opened her eyes, the others looked at her with confusion. She said, "Oh…I was just praying, just telling God that I'm thankful for the food."

"A tradition of some sort to your God?" Eriol still eyed her with a little distrust, while Adelah simply replied, "…No, it's called gratitude."

"Hmm…amusing." Eriol returned to eating, while Sakura didn't turn to even look at her. Tomoyo let down a sweat drop, as she turned to Adelah and said, "Well, um, did you make your own lunch, Adelah-chan?"

"Yes I did. Did you, Tomoyo-chan?" Tomoyo giggled, "Oh no, my mother usually makes lunch for me before she heads off to work. We rarely get to see each other during the day. She feels it's an obligation, as my mother, to see that I eat the right things." Adelah grinned at Tomoyo, and saw Syaoran looking at them. She smiled at Syaoran, who simply turned back to his food. Sakura eyed them both, unsure of what to think of what she saw. Eriol raised his glasses, "So then, Yoshinada-chan, I suppose you know already where the cards will hit today?"

Everyone but Adelah looked at Eriol, as Syaoran noticed Adelah gripping her chopsticks a little. She, then, looked at Eriol, "…Actually, I don't."

"-Which also makes me wonder, how you knew about it before. Can you tell us how you knew that Sand would attack the park, and that another spirit would attack yesterday night?" The tension seemed to rise between them. Everyone realized that it was a little suspicious that Adelah knew so much already about the cards' actions. Adelah simply replied, "…I knew because I prayed and asked God for direction. I just felt that the park wouldn't be safe that day. I didn't know that Sand would be there. And seeing Sand, I knew that it meant another spirit would attack sooner or later…"

"Yoshinada-chan, you seem to forget that none of us here believe in your God and the stories. You expect us to believe all that you say?"

"Are you labeling me as an enemy then, Hiragizawa-kun?"

"Can you still call yourself our ally when you are trying to destroy the Sakura cards? Sounds a little hypocritical, doesn't it?" All fell silent, as the words rang through all of their ears. Tomoyo and Syaoran also realized they missed some points about Adelah that made her strangely against them but also for them. She was simply a character they could not read. Adelah looked a little down, unsure of how to explain to them her point of view. She turned to look at Sakura, who was not looking at any of them, but simply looking at her food. Adelah slowly rose from her seat, grabbing her lunch box. She began to walk away, while Tomoyo turned to her, "Ah! A-Adelah-chan…"

Adelah looked back, "I know when I'm not wanted. I'll dismiss myself, if you don't mind." She walked away, feeling their eyes staring at her back. Eriol scoffed at her reaction, as he returned to eating, "Well, it didn't seem like she could defend herself. I think we know enough about her now, don't you agree?" Eriol looked at Syaoran, who turned away without saying anything. Tomoyo couldn't understand Eriol's strange reaction. It was as though no one was willing to truth her except herself and Syaoran. Tomoyo looked at Sakura, who continued eating without any word. Syaoran also looked at Sakura, a little disappointed that Sakura was not acting like herself. And for the entire day, Adelah was no where to be found.

On the other hand, sitting in her literature class, Miye was talking with some of her acquaintances. Her friends suddenly looked up behind Miye with a frightened expression, as a dark shadow rose behind Miye. Miye turned around with a confused look, surprised to see Lucia. Lucia smirked, with her usual unwavering confidence in her beauty. "Hello there. I hope you remember seeing me at the café yesterday? You should, of course, I was the only other girl in the café at that time."

Touya entered the classroom. Walking down the stairs to find a good seat, he noticed Miye sitting and talking with Lucia. Miye returned a confused glance, "Um…and you are?" Lucia still boldly stood next to her, "Inou Lucia! You are Hinabi Miye, no?" Miye simply nodded, unsure of why Lucia held such a defying tone. Lucia drew closer to Miye's face while her blue eyes got deeper in color. Miye let out a sweat drop, still wondering what was wrong. Lucia asked, "And how did a girl like you, missy, get in contact with _my_ Touya-kun?"

"E-Excuse me?" Lucia found Miye's confusion irritating, "Don't play dumb! You spoke to him that day." Miye thought for a moment. Realizing she meant Kinomoto Touya, she replied, "Oh…Kinomoto-kun and I simply realized that we were in the same class…that's all."

"Hmph! You expect me to believe that? I actually think you planned around his schedule to bump into him and make it look coincidental." Lucia raised an angry glance at her, which made Miye a little angry. "Wha? I don't understand what you're talking about. I don't even know what his schedule is like!"

"Oh really--- Then tell me what you're doing tonight?" Miye started to get really angry, finding this misunderstanding completely ridiculous. "My friends and I are planning to go to the Ladrinne Auditorium for work. There, are you satisfied, Inou-san?"

"Ladrinne Auditorium? I'm going there tonight." Lucia and Miye practically jumped, hearing Touya right behind them. Touya found a seat right behind Miye, and because they were so engrossed in their conversation, they seemed to have not noticed him. Miye was a little surprised, "Kinomoto-kun…" Lucia looked baffled, smoothing out her straight hair. She sweetly smiled at him, "Oh-Oh my, Touya-kun. When did you get here? Love that blue shirt, by the way."

Touya ignored her and continued speaking with Miye, "You work there too, huh? I didn't notice you around." Once again, Lucia glared at Miye, who replied, "Actually, I just recently got the job. I was lucky to even get hired." Touya thought for a moment, and asked, "Well, since I'm going there for work. Why don't we go together?"

Miye gave a bright expression, while Lucia's jaw dropped in horror. Miye smiled, "That would be nice."

"I-I'm going to the Auditorium too!" Touya and Miye turned and looked at her, quite frankly a little disappointed. Lucia simply laughed, flinging her long hair behind her, "And I _know_ you guys wouldn't mind me going with you." She sighed, putting her hand under her chin in thought, "I'm wanted in so many different places. I just don't know what to do with the time anymore."

"…you could always not come." Touya blankly commented, not fancying her egocentric attitude. Lucia simply looked back at Touya, with dreamy eyes, "Oh but Touya-kun, you know I love to go anywhere you—" Yet before she could finish, one of her friend called out to her from the other side of the room. She turned and glared at them, angry that they ruined the moment to express herself. She turned and flashed a fake smile at both of them and headed off toward her friend. "Well then, we'll head there tonight together, Tooouuuyaaa-kun!" Touya and Miye sighed, watching her leave and laugh her strange high pitched laughter. They looked at one another, as Miye gave him a dubious stare, "You sure have a…um…protective girlfriend."

"Wha! Girlfriend! Her!" Touya shook his head, bewildered by the term, "She's not my girlfriend." Miye, on the other hand, looked even more confused. "She isn't!" Touya motioned for Miye to come closer, as she did and he leaned in to whisper, "I heard she does that to everyone, so don't take it too personally." Miye held her mouth to not giggle too loudly, as Touya smirked. The lecture started and everyone attentively brought their attention to the front. The rain poured down harder as the day prolonged. For Sakura and the others, the school day came to an end. Everyone huddled close to the school building, getting their umbrellas ready. Sakura and Syaoran, hearing the rain fall upon the roof above them, silently stood near the school. Sakura solemnly turned towards him, "What did you want to talk about?"

"It's…about Adelah…" Sakura didn't reply. She simply waited for Syaoran to continue, "But it's just not about Adelah…it's about you. What's going on, Sakura?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"You're not acting like yourself. Why aren't you trying to talk with Adelah and work things out? It's not like you. You're friendly with everyone. You hate it when there's a problem like this. You would usually be the first to try."

"There's nothing to talk about and there's nothing to work out. It's not as though we were ever friends…"

"Sakura…she helped us yesterday. Don't tell me you think she's our enemy? She protected us…" Sakura looks at him in a hurt way. "Syaoran-kun, do you know what happens to the cards after she defeats them?

"I didn't know at first. But, after yesterday, after all I felt-watching them disappear in front of us, I realized what happened. Those cards aren't coming back to my deck…I…I searched everywhere…I looked in every corner of my house to find them…but, they're…gone…" She turned away, distraught and still shaken about what happens to her cards. Syaoran-kun's heart was torn. He felt utterly useless to see her so unhappy. "Sakura…there must have been a reason. I don't think Adelah means you harm."

Sakura didn't turn to look at him. He continued, nonetheless, "It was wrong of us to treat Adelah that way during lunch. She didn't do anything to deserve that. I think we should give her a chance and trust her. We can't even fight against the cards without her. How else can we—"

"Syaoran-kun! Please…just stop!" Sakura looked at him. He looked a little hurt that she cut him off. Sakura's eyes softened, as she sighed. She didn't know why she felt so angry whenever Syaoran would speak of Adelah. Perhaps, deep inside, Sakura started wondering what Syaoran felt towards Adelah in the first place. She didn't know what she was feeling anymore. Could she be jealous and not know it? Sakura looked at him, feeling all her emotions rush back. She truly cared for Syaoran, and she didn't want to hurt him. "Syaoran-kun, I'm sorry. I…"

She stopped, trying to compose herself. She wanted to tell him everything. She wished she could tell him how frustrated she was, how she wished Adelah never came, how she wished that phantom Akuma never appeared in front of her, how she wished she could find control over her cards again, and how she wished she could know his feelings and he would know hers for him. Conjuring any bit of courage she had, she began, "I…always wanted to tell you…and ask you. Syaoran-kun, do you—"

Unfortunately, before she could finish, the thunder rumbled. The entire school grounds began to flood because of the severe rains. Massive clouds gathered all around the school. Syaoran and Sakura looked above. They saw the Cloud spirit, hoping from one cloud to another. They ran out after it. A small shadow was following after them. They stopped and turned around, seeing the Rain spirit sitting on a cloud and looking down upon them. Syaoran defensively got in front of Sakura, as they realized Cloud was merely a distraction and Rain and Cloud got them exactly where they wanted, isolated from all people.

As the lightning struck, lighting the dark halls with a brief flash, Eriol sat in his majestic chair in his newly built mansion. He turned towards the window, hearing the rain fall upon his mansion. In the hall, Spiel Sun and Akizuki Nakuru, or better known as Ruby Moon, quietly walked towards Eriol's room. Spiel was lit like a floating light bulb, guiding their way through the dark passage. Nakuru sighed, stretching a little, "Oh Supi---I'm so tired. These days, the weather is SOOO wearing me out."

Spiel simply gave her a skeptical look, "I'd say it's probably jet lag. You're just not used to traveling through an airplane, which I find strange since you seem perfectly mobile in the air."

"Heeeyyy, at least I didn't go crazy after eating the airplane's sugar cookie. Tehehe. You caused Eriol-sama so much trouble that day. He had to freeze time in midair and make everyone forget what happened that day." Spiel stopped, and Nakuru grinned, realizing he's probably going to snap at her again. Yet Nakuru sensed something strange in their midst. Spiel and her both fell silent and looked around. She narrowed her eyes to see if anything was at the end of the hallway. Spiel slowly drew closer, as a faint form of a person stood in front of them. When the lightning struck, the dark figure's shadow became clearly visible for the brief moment. Nakuru yelled, "Who are you!"

Yet before anything could happen, the shadowy figure drooped into the floor, and fling by them, sliding across the floor. Spiel and Nakuru followed after them. The shadow rushed under the doors in front of them, as Nakuru immediately opened and ran after it. "It's going towards Eriol-sama's room!" Spiel exclaimed. The shadow slid under the door to Eriol's room and as Nakuru was about to open the door, she realized it was locked. "What the-!"

"Eriol-sama, open the door!" Spiel cried out, yet they heard Eriol's calm voice reply, "I know. It is all right, Nakuru, Spiel. Wait outside for a moment. I have a special guest to speak with." They stepped back, slightly confused by his words. Nevertheless, they obeyed his command. They turned to one another and then returned their gaze at the door. From the shadows, Akuma slowly walked towards him. Eriol got up from his chair and turned around. He stirred and eyed him with surprise, "My, so you did come, just as I suspected…"

Akuma, his entire body still cloaked in the large black tattered hood and cape, walked closer and chuckled, "And just as I expected, you called unto me…Eriol…"

"I don't know what you are, and frankly I don't care. You're causing this storm, aren't you? Stop it now." Eriol spoke with confidence and control. Yet Akuma spoke with his deep tone, "Tsk, Tsk Tsk. That's no way of making a deal now, is it?"

Within Eriol's hand, a bright glow emitted as his large staff appeared. Just as it did, Eriol swung the staff to his side and then firmly hit the ground with it. Suddenly the entire room was lit by the candles that hung on the walls. "I'm warning you. You've caused enough disturbances for all of us. I will not tolerate it any longer."

Akuma's dark hand rose from his side. He hissed, "My poor, deceived boy, so you think your powers are enough, do you?" With a snap of his fingers, Eriol felt an amazing force push him back. Eriol hit the wall behind him. Akuma let his hand down, but Eriol raised his staff and caused a circular symbol to appear underneath Akuma. Akuma did not move. Eriol felt stiff but struggled to his feet. He concentrated his hardest to keep Akuma trapped. Akuma shook his veiled head, "You think your dark magic is any threat to me? Fool!" Suddenly the seal underneath him flashed and the circle enlarged into a large wave of energy and slashed unto Eriol. The entire room grew dark again, and every candle out. Eriol fell back, as he dropped his staff, which immediately flew to Akuma. Akuma grabbed it instantly, unmoved and unaffected by the entire calamity. He coldly growled, "I created this power...I have every control over all that you believed was yours. Pathetic…"

Eriol shook his head in disbelief, "This can't be. It's impossible…" Akuma walked closer, as Eriol cowered away, "Oh but it is. Still, I could always let you continue dreaming this fake reality. I could always watch you live this lie …The choices are numerous, aren't they?" Eriol watched with utter horror, as Akuma laughed, lighting the room again and causing the same seal to appear beneath Eriol. As he laughed, it seemed as a thousand other people were giggling with him, with their piercing voices covering the entire room and mansion. Rain and Cloud pranced around the little clouds. Sakura and Syaoran were thrown back from Rain and Cloud's attack. They screamed as they hit the floor hard. They were drenched within the moist atmosphere so their hair and uniform were stuck to their bodies. As they breathed, their warm breath was apparent in the cold air. The water level began to rise as even the sewers couldn't drain the water to the sea that quickly. Cloud began to cover the entire area. Suddenly, Rain began to pour acid rain over them. Syaoran and Sakura dodged it but soon the rain became sleet. The sharp and crisp drops began to hail over them. Syaoran covered Sakura. Luckily Cerberus came to their rescue once more. He flew over them and hurled a fiery blast against both Rain and Cloud. Rain and Cloud got hit and backed off for a moment. Sakura was relieved to see Cerberus, "Kero-chan…"

Syaoran got up, holding his sword firmly in his hand. He wasn't willing to give up, not while he still had strength left in him. Tomoyo watched them from afar, seeing how they kept falling but rising to fight again. She could only see the Spirits and her friends fighting against one another. Even Cerberus seemed powerless against Rain and Cloud. Tomoyo gasped as she saw Sakura fall on the floor, wincing in pain. Sakura tightly held to her staff. Tomoyo gripped her hands together, as though she could feel their pain. A determined look appeared across Tomoyo's face. She quickly dashed away from the scene. As their battle continued, the rain only seemed to hit the earth harder. Tomoyo ran through the rain, panting and feeling faint.It was as though she was running through a shallow pond. Her shoes were entirely drenched and the water even reached over her ankles. Finally reaching her destination, she practically crashed in the person's house. She knocked heavily upon someone's door, "Please, please…open!"

Adelah stopped washing her dishes, as she heard loud knocks on her door. She quickly ran and opened it, shocked to find Tomoyo drenching wet. "Tomoyo-chan! What in the---!"

Tomoyo was about to fall but Adelah gasped and quickly grabbed her. She led her into the house, as Tomoyo held onto the door frame for support. Adelah rushed to get a towel but Tomoyo held onto her, "Adelah-chan…Wait…" Adelah turned and looked at the troubled girl, who was still catching her breath, "Please…Sakura-chan and the others…they're in trouble…"

Adelah's facial expression dropped, as though she expected to hear that. Tomoyo still panted and earnestly looked at Adelah. Adelah, however, turned away. "Yes. I did notice the weather was a little strange." Adelah went to grab a towel, while Tomoyo desperately cried out, "…W-Won't you help them…?"

Adelah remained silent, as she returned with the towel. Adelah did not look at Tomoyo's face, but she simply handed the towel to her. Tomoyo held the towel but all she could feel was despair, fearful that Sakura and the others will perish by the force of the cards. Adelah held another towel and helped Tomoyo dry herself, but Tomoyo pushed the towel away, frustrated with Adelah's silence, "Adelah-chan…please, say something!"

Adelah threw the towel onto to the floor and sternly looked at Tomoyo. Tomoyo stared back with the same frightenedexpression. Adelah emotionlessly said, "They do not need me. They believe they can handle the situation. Leave it to them." Adelah turned to walk away, leaving Tomoyo utterly frantic and tearful. Tomoyo followed after Adelah, holding her arm, "But! You know they can't! You know they can't win!"

Adelah seemed completely unaffected by Tomoyo's desperate words. Yet Tomoyo pulled harder as she tried to make Adelah face her. "Please, you must help Sakura-chan!" Nevertheless, Adelah pulled away from Tomoyo's grasp and walked a few steps away. Adelah closed her eyes, her eyebrows furrowed in to show signs of distress. She sighed and held her head with her hand. Tomoyo fell to the floor, and she began to sniffle. Adelah raised her eyes towards the ceiling. Tomoyo tightly gripped her wet clothing in anguish,revealing her white knuckles. The moment seemed unreal to any of them, as all they could hear was their breathing and the rain upon the windows. Her voice was weak and trembling, as she spoke. "They may die…they've never faced an enemy like this. I want to help them…I want to fight with them…but…I can't. I can never do anything for them…I can't even see the enemy they fight…I can't feel what they feel…I can't even try…Sakura-chan's hurt. Though she seems to not like you...I know, it's not that. I do know. Sakura-chan's kind at heart...you must believe me..."

The thunder roared across the area. They could hear the rain pouring harder upon the house. Her tears drew a warm line down her wet face, and it continued to fall onto her hand. Tomoyo sniffed, as her throat hurt from trying to keep her breathing steady. She raised her hand to wipe away the tears on her face, but Adelah held it. Tomoyo raised her glance slightly, seeing Adelah's amethyst eyes return her a truly saddened expression. Adelah helped Tomoyo up. Tomoyo was surprised by Adelah's sudden warm attitude towards her. It shocked Tomoyo for Adelah's voice was also quite shaky. She sighed, and swallowed hard to preventhertears from falling. "I'm sorry, Tomoyo-chan…"

"…A-Adelah-chan?" Adelah shook her head, disappointed at herself.

"I was wrong. Forgive me. I was wrong to not want to help…" Tomoyo closely examined her face, beginning to understand, "So, so you mean-?"

"Yes…let's go." Tomoyo's face brightened, as Adelah led her back to the door. Tomoyo started to still worry, "Oh, I hope they're still all right…"

"Have faith. God won't let her die that easily." Adelah handed Tomoyo an umbrella. As they both ran out of her house, Adelah silently prayed and hoped. 'Forgive me, God. I was selfish and I seemed to have forgotten all that I've been through with you. Please let me not be too late..."

_--------Preview of Next Chapter----------_

_While the party began to look around the auditorium, Touya glanced at Yukito and shocked. Yukito held his chest, strangely sweating though the rooms were perfectly air-conditioned "Yuki..? What's wrong?" Yukito darts away._

_Yue concentrates with all the power he could muster. A bright light shined forth, causing the phantoms to fly back. Yue took this chance to leave._

_Akuma hovers in front of Yue and Cerberus, who boldly protects Syaoran and Sakura. He chuckles, "Finally, I can see the end of you two…" _

_Back inside the mansion: "Eriol-sama!" Eriol gets back on his feet, as the door flies open with Spiel Sun and Ruby Moon in their true form. Akuma slightly turns his head, noticing their presence._

_Touya, looking for Yukito, stumbles upon the scene, where Syaoran is struggling to his feet. Sakura shakes her head in despair, holding a wounded Yue. Yue coughs uneasily, "Sakura, I'm sorry…my mistress…I couldn't…"_

_Yue's bodyslowly fades as Sakura's eyes grow wide. She buries her face on his shoulder, "YUE-SA! NO!" _

_-----------------------------------------------------_


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